December 2004
Generic Biotech
Biotech drugs can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Cheaper generic versions could save countless lives, but proving their safety and effectiveness is no easy task.
By Erika Jonietz
Since their inception in the 1980s, biotech drugs based on natural proteins have come to mean the difference between life and death for millions of patients, treating diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis, heart attacks, and numerous genetic diseases. They boost the quality of life of millions more, people with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson's disease. But such "large molecule" drugs also come with large price tags. Interferon beta, used to treat multiple sclerosis, runs $10,000 to $14,000 a year. Cancer treatments such as Herceptin can cost $20,000 to $30,000. And the prices of drugs for some rare diseases can top $200,000 annually. "People need these drugs for their survival," says Abbey Meyers, founder and president of the National Organization for Rare Disorders. "If they can't afford it, they're dead."
![]() | Select from the choices above to read the entire article. |
Customer Service
|
Magazine Services
|
Subscribe
|
Other
|
Advertise
|


