Prostate cancer medication pricing controversy seems to be augmenting with the Xtandi prostate cancer drug development firms Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) and Astellas Pharma, Inc. having come under the scrutiny once again.
A 12-member delegation constituting presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and other Congress officials have instructed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Health and Human Services to initiate a public meeting in relation to the pricing issue for the Xtandi drug.
In a petition that was filed to the NIH, Xtandi costs $129,000 in America, whereas in Japan and Sweden it can be purchased for just $39,000 and in Canada for $30,000. The Congress delegation is of the opinion that the public meeting on the issue will designate the strategy needed to get the pricing lowered in America.
Current Scenario
While the high cost of medications has dependably been a matter of concern, political and media concern on this issue has expanded altogether since September 2015 taking after Hillary Clinton’s cost gouging tweet. Also, medical sector has come under major scanner as there are many other pharma companies who have exorbitant price for the drugs sold in America as compared the other parts of the world.
From that point forward, a few pharmaceutical and biotech organizations with expensive medications have seen their offer costs falling reflecting speculator concerns in regards to their benefit if drug costs are cut. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. was among the hardest hit because of its procedure of securing organizations and offering their medications at higher costs.
Finding Way Out
With medication costs remaining a noteworthy concern, social insurance organizations might discover it somewhat hard to legitimize their high costs by referring to the years and assets that go into putting up new medicines for sale to the public and the need to put resources into R&D to put up extra medications for sale to the public.
Even if the winner of the presidential elections is not considered, drug price estimating will remain a theme of discourse among policymakers, the media and the overall population. The companies have not commented on the issue yet and industry analysts are positive of a price revision from the companies soon.