Does anyone know what the actual manufacturing cost of tasigna is? I know it cost about $13,000.00 per month at the pharmacy. But what is the actual cost?
Manufacturing Cost of Tasigna
Started by
Goldfinger
, Aug 05 2017 06:27 PM
8 replies to this topic
#2
scuba
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Posted 05 August 2017 - 10:09 PM
Does anyone know what the actual manufacturing cost of tasigna is? I know it cost about $13,000.00 per month at the pharmacy. But what is the actual cost?
It's about $150 to manufacture ... but that is not the only cost to bring a drug like Tasigna to market. It costs over $2.0 billion dollars to bring a successful drug through the FDA process to market. Approximately 70% of phase II trials are unsuccessful ($1.0 billion to get that far).
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#3
chriskuo
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Posted 06 August 2017 - 01:33 AM
It is a patented drug in the US ( which means no competition) so the manufacturer can charge whatever it wants to to maximize its profit.
The price is not related to manufacturing cost and only slightly related to the research and development costs.
Note that it would be surprising if you or anybody paid $13,000 at the pharmacy. Most patients go through an insurance company and pharmacy benefits manager, which generally get heavy discounts from the manufacturer. Then the cost the consumer pays is based on the copay arrangement. In most employer plans, the copays are relatively reasonable. For Medicare Part D people in catastrophic phase, they pay 5% of the drug price, which can still be many hundreds of dollars. I have not heard of any cases yet where the 5% copay is over $1000/month.
Anybody who has nongovernmental insurance is usually eligible for copay assistance from the manufacturer. Anybody without insurance would generally be smart to get insurance and then apply for the copay assistance (unless the person is destitute, in which case there are charity options).
#4
Goldfinger
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Posted 06 August 2017 - 07:19 AM
I am on Medicare and have a great drug plan which pays for 100% of everything.
I was just wondering what the actual manufacturing cost was. I can understand recouping all the costs of research, of trials for successful drugs as well as the unsuccessful ones, overhead, profit,etc. Still, if it only costs $150.00 to manufacture a months supply, it just seems excessive... At least to me.
I was just wondering what the actual manufacturing cost was. I can understand recouping all the costs of research, of trials for successful drugs as well as the unsuccessful ones, overhead, profit,etc. Still, if it only costs $150.00 to manufacture a months supply, it just seems excessive... At least to me.
#5
Buzzm1
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Posted 06 August 2017 - 08:13 AM
if it only costs $150.00 to manufacture a months supply, it just seems excessive... At least to me.
Goldfinger, the $150.00 manufacturing cost, or thereabouts, is likely for a full year of Tasigna.
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#6
Goldfinger
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Posted 06 August 2017 - 08:34 AM
You mean the ingredients plus manufacturing cost is only $150.00 per year? Yikes. Not that there's much difference when you consider the costs versus the prescription cost.
#7
shweflen
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Posted 06 August 2017 - 08:52 AM
I am on Medicare and have a great drug plan which pays for 100% of everything.
I was just wondering what the actual manufacturing cost was. I can understand recouping all the costs of research, of trials for successful drugs as well as the unsuccessful ones, overhead, profit,etc. Still, if it only costs $150.00 to manufacture a months supply, it just seems excessive... At least to me.
Goldfinger, I am on Medicare with a Part D drug plan thru Express-Scripts and will pay something over $5,000 in copays this year for 300 mg / day imatinib myslate. I am curious what drug plan you have that pays 100% of everything. Thanks for your help.
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#8
Goldfinger
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Posted 06 August 2017 - 09:42 AM
I'm on Medicare and am eligible for a part D program called " Helping Hands". It's a special program for financially challenged people like myself. I get a basically free drug plan through Aetna. I have to re-enroll each year and be able to meet the qaulifications of the program.
#9
chriskuo
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Posted 07 August 2017 - 02:19 AM
$5K or $6K annually is a common copay for TKIs through Medicare Part D. Because of the complicated rules around Medicare, the copay assistance for the financially challenged cannot come directly from the drug manufacturers (as they can do with people on non-government insurance plans).
Medicare provides drug assistance for extremely low income individuals. Some states and charities provide assistance to needy individuals who do not qualify for Medicare assistance but cannot afford typical Medicare Part D copays. (Much of the charity money comes from drug manufacturers but there must be a charity in the middle doing the vetting and screening).
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