Novartis introduced a breakthrough leukemia medication, Gleevec, 15
years ago with a list price of over $26,000 for a year; today, despite common
market standards that expect competition to lead to price reduction, a year of
Gleevec costs over $120,000. Unlike drugs sparking outrage with sudden,
unexplained price increases, Novartis chose to gradually increase the cost of
Gleevec on a year-over-year basis, oftentimes with the release of competitors
to the market. The rarity of the form of leukemia treated by Gleevec was,
according to Novartis, a partial explanation for the high cost; if more
patients took the drug, they would be able to lower the cost and still recoup
expenses. Today, Gleevec’s effectiveness has increased the population of
individuals living with the cancer by 300% but Novartis’ original pricing
explanation remains unseen. Novartis’ run with Gleevec has likely come to an
end, though, as the drug lost patent protection last month.
Read the Washington Posts article about it here.
