Politicians have heaped fire and brimstone on pharmaceutical companies for increasing the price of their products, some of which were approved decades ago. But far less ire has been directed at price tags on newly approved treatments — many of which continue to rise.
New cancer drugs cost about 17 times more than they did 40 years ago, according to Kaiser Health News, and a drug for spinal muscular atrophy approved in 2016 is one of the most expensive products on the market, The Boston Globe has reported.
That has occurred despite the fact that the national conversation about drug prices has heated up in recent years. It was fall 2015 when Martin Shkreli emerged as the poster child for rising drug prices after having increased the cost of an old drug by 5,000 percent. And last summer, Mylan took a turn in the hot seat over dramatic price rises on its signature EpiPen — in response to which it introduced a cheaper generic version. Still, new drugs hitting the market are being listed at steep prices. (Because of rebates and insurance, patients do not necessarily pay the list price, however.)
Here are seven drugs that list for over six figures annually, all approved by the Food and Drug Administration for marketing in the United States since 2016:
■ Venclexta: This leukemia treatment, marketed by AbbVie and Genentech, runs about $109,500 a year, FierceBiotech reported. It was approved April 11, 2016.
■ Tecentriq: The bladder cancer treatment costs patients $12,500 a month, The New York Times reported, or $150,000 yearly. It was approved May 18, 2016, and is marketed by Genentech.
■ Exondys 51: Sarepta’s drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy generated more controversy for the evidence of its efficacy than over its price. But a year of the medicine comes at the steep price of $300,000. It was approved Sept. 19, 2016.
■ Rubraca: Clovis Oncology is charging $6,870 for 15 days of this ovarian cancer drug, FiercePharma reported, which could put a patient out $164,000 for the year. It was approved Dec. 19, 2016.
■ Spinraza: This drug for spinal muscular atrophy is one of the most expensive — the first year costs $750,000, and subsequent years $375,000. It’s been marketed by Biogen since Dec. 23, 2016, and was recently the subject of an investigation by The Boston Globe which found that even though the FDA had approved it for all types of the disease, some insurance companies aren’t providing full coverage.
■ Kisqali: The breast cancer drug, approved last month, attracted attention about its price — not for the high price tag, but for the fact that it costs a different amount depending on the dose. (This isn’t always the case. For example, the EpiPen Jr. contains half the amount of epinephrine as the regular EpiPen but costs the same amount.) A year’s supply might run as low as $57,000 or as high as $142,000, depending on the dose, FiercePharma reported.
■ Bavencio: This just-approved skin cancer drug costs about $156,000 a year, Axios reported. It’s marketed by Pfizer and EMD Serono, a division of Merck KGaA.
Ike Swetlitz can be reached at ike.swetlitz@statnews.com. Follow Ike on Twitter @ikeswetlitz.