“did you mean the money or the time? “
Both. And yes the price will come down after the patent expires—maybe as much as ONLY $2000/mo. It is MY business because I am at risk. I also think there are a lot of other drugs out there that will extend life for 6 months at a fraction of the cost. An example of rip-off drugs: Lucentis for macular degeneration is priced around $2000 a pop given about every 5 wks to 3 mos. Now, Avastin, which is $150 a pop works just as well—but really isn’t marketed for that use. Who is getting screwed? The patient by the pharmaceutical company that markets the more expensive drug, or the pharmaceutical company that the patient declines to use because the drug is more expensive than the one being used “off market” and thus is not paid for the “service” it provides? And who, in the FDA, is getting paid to prevent the less expensive drug from being approved? What I am ultimately saying is that patients need to do their research VERY carefully and make informed decisions. They do not need to jump at every “hope” that may be marketed by researchers,docs and pharmaceutical companies without first considering a cost/benefit angle.
Good and correct. Thanks for the clarification.