This is something crazy I came across today.
So, there is this FDA approved drug called Hemgenix. In short, it is a gene therapy used for the treatment of Haemophilia B, a rare disease characterized by prolonged bleeding even from small injuries.
The drug is called Hemgenix and it also gained approval in the EU in 2023.
Now, what is really interesting about this drug is that it currently holds the record for being the most expensive FDA approved drug, priced at roughly $3.5 million per treatment 🤯
Sounds a lot right? Well, supposedly it does cut down costs per patient by A LOT.
Hemophilia B patients require regular treatments of all kinds and are subject to a lot of hospitalizations during their lifetime. Their median lifespan in the US is 77 years and it is estimated that their lifetime direct medical costs average to over $47 million per patient. HOLY FUCK!
Current clinical trial data show that the hemgenix treatment can eliminate the need for other treatments and the company claims that the drug saves the US healthcare system by 5–5.8 millions per patient. That's some big numbers!
Dunno how to close the numbers are To reality, I took them from this article which to be fair is well references. It also has some other crazy expensive FDA approves drugs used for other rare diseases.
I am just glad I am a relatively healthy person not afflicted by weird rare conditions 🫣😅
