Saturday, January 27, 2007

Biotech Cost Ceiling?

NY Times:

Are biotechnology companies reaching the limits of how much they can charge for their drugs? One sign of that is the sluggish sales of drugs for psoriasis.

I'm not sure this is the best example to draw an industry wide conclusion about a cost ceiling.

more: In my opinion this is just as relevant to a biotech price ceiling as the psoriasis situation above is:
After winning the FDA's approval for its new cancer drug Vectibix, Amgen swiftly pegged the price of the new drug at a 20 percent discount on Erbitux, which works in much the same way. Analysts immediately seized on the move as an indication that the biopharma industry is becoming increasingly sensitive to criticisms that new cancer therapies are priced at huge premiums for drug developers. But even at the discount, analysts note, Vectibix will still cost more than $100,000 a year.

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