10 most expensive medicines in the world that can save lives

As folk wisdom says, money cannot buy health. But, if a person is seriously ill, sometimes it is a bank account that is a guarantee of future well-being. Modern clinics in Russia and abroad can cope with the most severe diseases, provided that a person is able to pay for treatment and medicines. And the sums are huge.

Some diseases can be cured by taking only very rare drugs, their cost can be record high. Not many people can buy the most expensive drugs in the world, but fortunately, we have many charitable organizations ready to support people in difficult moments of their lives.

10 Acthar – $200 for an annual course

This drug is given to children under 2 years of age and is used to treat seizures. The FDA, the agency that monitors the quality of medicines, has not approved this drug. Therefore, it became difficult to get it. Insurance companies are also not ready to cover the costs of its acquisition. Therefore, the medicine is very expensive. For 5 ml, you will have to pay $ 7, and the annual course of treatment will cost $ 500.

Hartung College of Pharmacy professor says that Acthar intended for the treatment of children with a rare form of epilepsy. This medicine should not be used to treat adults.

There is no evidence that it is better than synthetic steroids. The doctor may prescribe another steroid that does much the same but costs less than $2,5 per pack.

9. Myozyme – from 100 to 300 thousand dollars for an annual course

This drug is also needed to treat Pompe disease. This is a life-threatening disease in which a child or adolescent who does not receive special drugs dies after 10-12 years from heart failure.

In an adult, the disease can develop for decades, but they can live with it without specific treatment.

Sweet Pill Myozyme also very expensive, for 50 ml you will have to pay $ 720. The cost of a full course is from 100 to 300 thousand per year.

8. Lumizyme – $300 for an annual course

This drug is essential for people with Pompe disease. This is a rare hereditary pathology. With it, the process of splitting glycogen in muscle and nerve cells is disrupted.

There are several types. If it is detected in the first months of a child’s life, it is not possible to save him, he dies before the year. Children who are diagnosed with this disease at 1-3 years of age live a little longer, but most often die in adolescence. If she was diagnosed at 6-10 years old, there is a chance to live up to 20 years. And adults with this disease can live to old age.

The only way to treat Pompe disease is replacement therapy, it is necessary to replenish the supply of acidic alpha-1,4-glucosidase. Its effectiveness is different, but there is no other way to save a person’s life. The treatment is very expensive, for 50 mg of Lumizyme you will have to pay 15 thousand dollars, and for a full course you will pay 300 thousand dollars a year.

7. Folotyn — 320 thousand. $ per year rate

Folotyn used to fight a very aggressive but rare type of cancer, T-cell lymphoma. This is a blood cancer in which the lymphatic system and human skin suffer. Most often people of advanced age are ill.

In addition to the typical symptoms of cancer (weight loss, weakness, apathy), a person also has other signs: an increase in the size of the lymph nodes, their thickening, redness of the skin, the appearance of ulcers and plaques on it, an enlarged liver and spleen.

When the treatment of the disease was ineffective, doctors prescribe a course of chemotherapy, Folotyn. This is the last chance to stop the disease. One ampoule costs about $3, and the course of treatment, which usually lasts 6 weeks, will cost $320.

6. Naglazyme – 365 thousand $ for the annual course

This medicine is used to treat an inherited disorder called diastrophic dwarfism called Lamy-Maroteau syndrome.

It begins to manifest itself in the first year of a child’s life, he begins to walk later. At the age of 10, it becomes noticeable that children have a shortening of the body, skeletal deformities progress. A hernia is forming in a child, there are various heart diseases, pain may disturb, deafness, etc. may appear.

The intellectual development of the child does not suffer, but otherwise the situation is difficult. Enzyme replacement therapy may help. Yes, drug Naglazyme needed to stimulate tissue growth and joint mobility. But the treatment is incredibly expensive. For 1 bottle of medicine in 5 ml, you will have to pay 2350 dollars, and a full course of treatment during the year will cost 365 thousand dollars.

5. Elaprase – $375 for an annual course

Elapraz necessary for the treatment of Hunter’s syndrome, the medicine is available in ampoules and tablets. Hunter syndrome is a hereditary rare genetic disease (1 sick child is born per 150 thousand newborns), there are about 2 thousand such people in the world.

There is a severe form of the disease that progresses rapidly, babies die in the 2nd decade of life. With moderate disease, a person can live up to 60 years.

The first symptoms appear at 2-4 years of age. Such children are undersized, their head size increases, their teeth are rare. By adolescence, they turn into invalids, bedridden. Such children should receive enzyme replacement therapy for the rest of their lives.

But the drug is very expensive, 2 ml or mg of the drug costs $4250, and a full course will cost $375 per year. Without it, they won’t survive. They should receive at least 0,5 mg of Elaprase per kg of body weight intravenously every week.

4. Soliris – 440 thousand $ for the annual course

It is also one of the most expensive drugs. It is necessary for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. With this disease, red blood cells are destroyed, which causes anemia in patients, they are more likely to suffer from infections. Thanks to Soliris it is possible to remove these negative manifestations by 90%.

It also helps to cope with another rare but dangerous disease – atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome. The cost of the medicine is $7, and the annual course of treatment will cost $400.

3. Actimmune (Interferon gamma-1b) – $ 572 thousand for the annual course

Patients with chronic granulomatous disease cannot do without this remedy. This is a rare disease that is inherited, most often boys get sick. In patients, infections are observed, due to which purulent formations appear on the skin, mucous membranes, etc., the kidneys, bladder and esophagus are affected.

Also Actimmune necessary for the treatment of marble disease. This is a rare hereditary disease in which hardening of the bones of the skeleton occurs. If it appeared in a child, he grows poorly, starts walking later, there may be problems with vision and hearing. Adults are concerned about pain in the legs, fatigue when walking.

Gamma-interferon necessary to reduce the severity of infections in the first disease and slow the development of marble disease. The annual course of such treatment will amount to 572 thousand dollars.

2. Glybera – $1,2 million for an annual course

This is one of the most expensive medicines in the world, one ampoule of which costs 53 euros, a year such treatment will cost 1,21 million US dollars. It is the first gene therapy drug that has been approved for use in the European Union.

In the U.S. Glybera did not approve. It is necessary for the treatment of lipoprotein lipase deficiency. This disease affects one person in a million. Because of it, painful swelling of the pancreas appears.

1. Luxturna – $850 for 2 injections

This is the most expensive drug in the world. A single injectable gene therapy that helps improve the vision of patients with inherited blindness. To help the patient, a long course of treatment is not needed, it is enough to make 1 injection.

Initially, the company that developed Luxturna, wanted to sell it for 1 million dollars, but then reduced the price to 850 thousand. This is the cost of 2 injections, which include the virus. It delivers the replacement gene to the human retina. The drug has been approved by the FDA.

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