Why many medications are so expensive? It's complicated.
Channel: car crash victim
Date: 2024-03-12

Yes, I uploaded this before. I deleted it by mistake. I recorded this on 29 February.
I talk about three cases of biotech developments. In the end, I talk about my mother's cancer.

Last week I saw a comment on YouTube by a woman who asked why medications were so expensive and if there could be state laboratories who could manufacture the medications to bring the price down. Earlier this week I attended a meeting, an online meeting, in Boston about these sorts of developments. 

It often takes 10 to 15 years to develop a medicine and 1 to 2 billion US dollars. Of course, it varies. How much medications cost is a complicated story. In the US, so-called pharmacy benefit managers play a role too. These are companies, not people.

In this video, I will give you some examples of how drug development can work out in practice to put it all into perspective.

Nobody paid, asked or encouraged me to make this video.

LINKS: 
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/a-brief-look-at-current-debates-about-pharmacy-benefit-managers/

https://www.statnews.com/2024/02/01/can-gene-therapies-make-for-a-profitable-business-keep-your-eye-on-bluebird-bio/

https://investor.sagerx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/sage-therapeutics-and-biogen-announce-fda-accepts-filing-new

Update 27 March 2024:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kintara-therapeutics-announces-expansion-of-rem-001-clinical-study-to-include-patients-on-pembrolizumab-302100353.html

Update 3 April 2024:
Definite merger agreement