Posted by Michael Wonder on 04 Aug 2016
There’s a possible cure for ‘bubble boy’ disease. It will cost $665,000
3 August 2016 - GlaxoSmithKline has developed what looks like a cure for a rare and deadly disease, and it’s going to cost $665,000 for a single dose.
That sky-high price tag — more than twice the average price of a house — is likely to stir what’s already a long-simmering debate in health care: How much should curative therapies cost, and how should society pay for them?
GSK’s drug, called Strimvelis, is a gene therapy for severe combined immune deficiency, an inborn illness that leaves children unable to protect themselves against infection. It’s the same condition that forced David Vetter to live his life in a protective plastic sphere, depicted in the documentary “The Boy in the Bubble.
