After Amgen Inc. (AMGN) won approval for its colorectal cancer drug Vectibix yesterday it set the price 20 percent lower than rival ImClone Systems Inc.'s (IMCL) Erbitux, a similar product.
Not only considered a competitive strategy it seems to be an acknowledgment of recent public concern with the cost of the newest cancer drugs. Even so, the drug still costs $4000 for an infusion every two weeks, and more than $100,000 for a year's treatment. Sadly, patients for whom the drug is approved are expected ot survive only a few months.
In another move to help keep the costs of cancer drugs down Amgen also announced they will limit patients' out-of-pocket expenses on co-payments. The patients will receive the drug free if those payments exceed 5 percent of a patient's adjusted gross income.
Read more in this NYTimes.com article.
Know More about the latest drugs at ThePharmVoice.com.
Comment Preview