most expensive medication
The most expensive drug in the U.S. is Soliris, from Alexion (ALXN). It costs $409,500 a year, and treats a rare disorder in which the immune system destroys red blood cells at night. Many of the most expensive drugs -- such as Soliris -- treat rare diseases that only a few hundred people suffer from. Those drugs aren't the real problem. Rather, it's the drugs in the $20,000 to $100,000 range, which mainly treat cancer and multiple sclerosis. Those diseases are very common in the elderly population.