The price of drugs


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Posted by james c on February 23, 1999 at 03:09:00:

I just calculated that since Jan 1st the Canadian government and I together have spent $4373.88 on prescription drugs for my chronic CH. Granted, these are Canadian dollars, but still! I know very little about how Imitrex is made, or what kind of time and money went into its development, but you'd think that by now Glaxo could afford to lower the price a little. I remember reading in a message that was posted a while back that in the States many health plans only allow four injections a month. I get an average of 5 attacks a day, and if I had to survive on 4 shots a month I would have thrown myself off of something very tall onto something very jagged a long time ago.
I remember that when I first started taking Verapamil, it was much more expensive than it is now. This is because the patent on the drug ran and a generic brand could then be sold. Does this same principle not apply to Imitrex? When can we expect to get affordable access to the only drug that has ever worked quickly and consistently against this debilitating condition of ours?
Have a pain free night,
james c

P.S. I suggest that if you're sitting up tonight avoiding sleep for fear of the inevitable headache you take a moment to write Glaxo and complain a little. Better yet, track down the phone number of a member of the board of directors call them up. If you can't sleep why should they? :)



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