The study also found Praluent and Repatha failed a standard test for being cost-effective, because they cost more than $100,000 for every year of healthy life saved, a measure that considers the quality of a person's life. To meet the standard, the drugs' prices would have to be reduced about 70%, to around $4,500 a year, a price that's closer to the medications' cost in Europe, Kazi said. European governments commonly negotiate drug prices for their countries with pharmaceutical companies.
"There is no doubt that there are high-risk patients who are in grave danger who need PCSK9 inhibitors now," said Patterson, chief operating officer at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "But they're really a handful of patients
But the cholesterol drugs aren't just expensive for people who take them, said Ceci Connolly, CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, which represents not for profit community health insurers owned by doctors and hospitals. The high costs hurt consumers “because what happens is people who don’t need get them, which increases health insurance premiums for everyone,” Connolly said.
In spite of all the interest in expensive cholesterol drugs, Kavi notes that about 30% of people who could benefit from a statin aren't taking one. Treating these patients with statins, which cost $200 to $600 a year, could actually save $2.4 billion a year, mainly by preventing hospitalizations due to heart attacks and strokes, Kavi said.
About 365 patients could be treated with a generic statin for the price of putting one patient on Praluent or Repatha, Connolly said.
"There is no doubt that there are high-risk patients who are in grave danger who need PCSK9 inhibitors now," said Patterson, chief operating officer at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "But they're really a handful of patients
But the cholesterol drugs aren't just expensive for people who take them, said Ceci Connolly, CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, which represents not for profit community health insurers owned by doctors and hospitals. The high costs hurt consumers “because what happens is people who don’t need get them, which increases health insurance premiums for everyone,” Connolly said.
In spite of all the interest in expensive cholesterol drugs, Kavi notes that about 30% of people who could benefit from a statin aren't taking one. Treating these patients with statins, which cost $200 to $600 a year, could actually save $2.4 billion a year, mainly by preventing hospitalizations due to heart attacks and strokes, Kavi said.
About 365 patients could be treated with a generic statin for the price of putting one patient on Praluent or Repatha, Connolly said.