21 replies to this topic

[Buzzm1]

Just read that generic Imatinib (Gleevec) is available in India at $790 per patient per year. In 11 days generic Imatinib becomes available in the U.S., but as yet I haven't been able to ascertain the price. Perhaps PatientAccess could find out the U.S. price for us.

 

• ▼  goose1   about an hour ago

  Hi Buzzm1 - Leading physicians and analysts seem to think it will come to market at about 80% of the current retail price - at least for the first six months of exclusivity. After that, not sure what will happen as new players bring their generics to market. The bulk of questions so far, have been on quality and price. Novartis has done a few mailings over the past few weeks discussing generics and Gleevec and I think we may get many more questions as we approach 2/1.

 

[Buzzm1]

Solving Pharma's Shkreli Problem http://onforb.es/1OFIom3

 

far down in the article:

Take the case of Novartis' Gleevec, a lifesaving pill that puts a deadly cancer called chronic myelogenous leukemia out of business. It was introduced in 2001 at a cost of $24,000 per patient per year. Then, in 2006, Bristol-Myers Squibb introduced another drug, Sprycel, for patients who had failed on Gleevec. When Novartis introduced its own successor to Gleevec, it was marketed (at first) to the sick patients treated with Sprycel. So it priced the drug to compete with Sprycel and raised the Gleevec price. The result: Gleevec now costs more than $90,000 a year.  (actually over $120,000 a year)

 

to think that U.S. generic Gleevec ((being introduced on 02/01/2016) will cost far more than the original price of the drug

[chriskuo]

For at least the first 6 months, there will be only 1 generic on the market (Sun was given that head start). During that time, there will be little incentive to price the generic really low. If other makers come in after that, there may be more serious competition.

The drugs sold in India do not have to meet the US FDA's standards. Because of that and the fact that US patients are not paying directly out of pocket, I would expect the generic price to settle in at about 30-40% of the current Gleevec price.

[Buzzm1]

The drugs sold in India do not have to meet the US FDA's standards. Because of that and the fact that US patients are not paying directly out of pocket, I would expect the generic price to settle in at about 30-40% of the current Gleevec price.

What complete bullsh*t.   There is absolutely no justification for charging U.S. generic Gleevec users 30-40% of the bloated retail price when generic Gleevec is available elsewhere in the the world for a very, very, small fraction of that price.  http://bit.ly/1vvuCg3

 

Sun Pharma, the producer of U.S. generic Gleevec, is located in India. http://bit.ly/1QmmTXX 

 

U.S. patients aren't paying out of pocket?  Every dollar added to our drug prices increases our already exorbitant insurance costs.  

Those who receive subsidies on their medical insurance, do so at the expense of U.S. taxpayers.

 

Big PhRMA has Congress in their back pocket; they are the #1 lobbyist in Washington DC ... 

[chriskuo]

Until Americans change their criteria for electing congressmen, this part of the health care system is not likely to change much.
ACA made health care more affordable for millilions of Americans, but did little to affect the profitability of drug companies. Bernie Sanders is the only presidential candidate that would go after this, and even if elected, this is an area he has little chance of changing.
Most Americans think of themselves as "exceptional" and support policies in a number of areas that are well outside the norms of other developed countries.

In this case, the main beneficiary is Sun, which was founded and is still mostly owned by an Indian family. We can hope that other companies follow them into the market. I think the main patient beneficiaries will be patients who use Medicare Part D. Their 5% copays in catastrophic phase could drop by several thousand dollars a year.

[r06ue1]

I'm probably going to get banned for posting this but sometimes things just need to be said.  

 

I used to work for Novartis, sort of know how things work there and I can tell you that company makes so much money they spend it as if it were growing on trees.  At the time I worked there, I didn't think much about it, how they had so much money, but since my diagnosis and shock at hearing how much my drug would cost, I now understand fully where all of that money was coming from (everyone that pays for insurance pays the bills).  

 

There's plenty of blame to go around; shareholders which demand more from their shares, corporate execs wanting to fill their coffers, politicians on the payrolls of these big companies through legalized bribery, insurance companies, and finally, us, We the People, for electing people who best represent us and our own greed (well, most of us anyways).  Anyone want to deny that they don't want lower taxes?  How about anyone that doesn't want more from their 401k's or stocks they own?  The system itself is inherently corrupt and the only way to fix it is to replace it with a completely new one.  I've actually been a member of a organization which does have a plan in place for a new system and we are currently in the education phase which will last until the majority of people are sick and tired of this current system and demand something new.  The biggest obstacle that I've found over the years when talking to people about it is that their own ego gets in the way.  

 

If anyone is interested, message me and I'll let you know where to go to learn more.  If anyone asks in a reply to this message I will post that information publicly for everyone to see.  If I do post it publicly all I ask is that everyone please behave like mature adults.

[Trey]

The first generic will be a "semi-generic" sponsored by Novartis.  It may take a while to get a true generic. 

[Buzzm1]

The first generic will be a "semi-generic" sponsored by Novartis.  It may take a while to get a true generic. 

what about all of the other imatinib (Gleevec) "generics" http://www.pharmacyc...imatinib-prices  already available on the global market?  

[r06ue1]

Most of those countries negotiate the price with the pharmaceutical companies, otherwise they won't allow them to sell it there.  The country might also picks up the tab like our private insurance does, for most of the cost.  Those prices are really shocking to me considering what we are paying, explains a lot about why our premiums are rising much faster than our cost of living.

[chriskuo]

The "genius" of the big Pharma model in the US is that employers and governments pick up most of the cost of their drugs and individuals are mostly sheltered from DIRECT impact on their pocketbook.  Americans generally don't like big government and high taxes.  There are a lot of politicians making a lot of hay by saying they want to reduce Federal involvement in health care when any realistic approach to reining in big Pharma would require more government involvement.  

[Buzzm1]

The "genius" of BIG PhRMA is in buying votes in Congress ..

BIG PhRMA is the highest spending Lobby in Washington DC http://bit.ly/1M1K7Qf

[Buzzm1]

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee http://bit.ly/11EEmWL

held a timely hearing today on Generic Drug Accessibility http://www.c-span.or...s-accessibility

 

I took the liberty of tweeting each of the Senate committee members the following:

 

U.S. generic Gleevec ((being introduced 02/01/2016) will cost 3 to 4 times the original 2001 price http://bit.ly/1nrgq47

note: putting the message in front of their twitter name makes the message public.

 

The above file also contains links to the Senate committee members website, their offices,  and their Facebook pages.

 

For all of Congress http://bit.ly/1a2QiUB

[chriskuo]

I don't see any interest by members of the majority party in Congress in putting any controls on Pharma prices.
A change in pricing policy would require defeating a large number of majority party Congress people in November.

[r06ue1]

You could vote in a completely new party (Libertarian or Green for example) and maybe things would change for a little while but in the end, you would be right back where we are now.  People just don't understand that it is our economic system that is inherently corrupt and this is why you see all of the widespread corruption all around you in just about every nation on the planet.  Until we move away from the current systems (none of the `ism's) then we will continue to have what we have today.

[Buzzm1]

Target prices for mass production of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for global cancer treatment http://bit.ly/1PauuIu

 

Based on annual dose requirements, costs of formulation/packaging and a 50% profit margin,

target generic price per person-year is $128-$216 for imatinib.

 

PS: don't expect this anytime soon

[Buzzm1]

Modest Price Cut Expected For Generic Version Of Cancer Pill Gleevec http://n.pr/1m8fQY8

 

Since Gleevec was launched, Novartis has raised the price of Gleevec often, nudging it even higher in recent years. The price for one pill climbed from $92.74 in 2010 to $179.93 in 2014

.....

 

In Feb., 2010, I was charged $143/400mg, and in 2014, over $300/400mg ... the lies by Big PhRMA are appalling.

 

Still trying to find out the price of the U.S. imatinib/gleevec generic ... 

[r06ue1]

The drug paid for itself approximately two years after its release from what I've heard.  Their reason for raising the price every year since?  To fund additional research (no mention of the vast majority of the profits going to corporate execs and shareholders).

[Silvertabby]

Sun Pharm has a copay assistance card application. Will be looking into details tomorrow. I have been concerned about the copay. I relied on Novartis' Copay last year until my deductible was met. It is frustrating to have the wonder drug for this awful disease but have to stress over how to pay for it. I feel guilty about the expense. The insurance company I was with in 2013 when I was diagnosed has gone out of the health insurance business. Wonder if I will put my current insurance company out of business too?

[Gail's]

Has anyone found the price since it went generic February 1?

[Buzzm1]

Has anyone found the price since it went generic February 1?

Gail, no luck yet in finding out the generic price .. I called Kaiser and Walmart yesterday and they didn't have the generic yet, or any information on it ... have also done internet searches.  In their PR they said 30% off retail so it depends on what they consider the retail price