advertisement
$180,000. i wondered how many months she needed.
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
the whole question around the way drugs are priced is nausea-inducingly complicated. there’s always a hum in the background of any drug pricing conversation — a sort of lilting tune that accompanies the justification of eye-popping therapy prices as a way to recoup expensive research and development costs. add in the complex systems canada has in place to determine how much we should pay for our medicines, how they are approved and who can access them, and well, it’s a lot for someone who is sick and tired to navigate.
advertisement
of course, sometimes the government comes in clutch. just last week, the pan-canadian pharmaceutical alliance (pcpa) — which negotiates medicine prices on behalf of the provinces and territories — announced an agreement with the company that makes a life-changing treatment for cystic fibrosis. the $300,000 per year drug, trikafta, which targets a faulty protein that causes the buildup of mucus that clogs the lungs and digestive system in people living with cf, will now be paid for in ontario, alberta and saskatchewan. and advocates expect the other provinces to follow suit. woot.
this is amazing news for the roughly 4300 canadians who live with cystic fibrosis, but it’s also a reminder of the value of access to effective medications — we are talking about increasing a person’s quality of life, giving them the capability to have jobs and families, to love and be loved. from brain disorders and cancer to rare diseases and diabetes , and so many others — it’s time we figured how to make living as best as possible with a disease affordable for everyone.