'I can't get sick', 24.7 million injections of 'the most expensive drug king' came, and burned 2 apartments in Beijing at one time

There is no most expensive, only more expensive. This time, the title of "Most Expensive Medicine King" in the world was given to 24.7 million doses of "life-saving needles".

Recently, the U.S. FDA issued an approval document, declaring the landing of Hemgenix, a gene therapy for hemophilia B under CSL Behring, a biopharmaceutical company. Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder caused by hereditary blood coagulation disorder, which faces life-long bleeding problems. For every 100,000 men, 21 people suffer from type A or B hemophilia. There has been no specific medicine in the past, and it is very difficult to completely cure it.

Now that the drug for hemophilia B in the United States has been developed and launched, on the one hand, it brings patients the hope of "rebirth", and on the other hand, the untouchable sky-high price has aroused heated discussions from all walks of life. The latest price of the drug has been raised to US$3.5 million (RMB 24.7 million at the current exchange rate), and one dose is comparable to two sets of school district houses in Beijing, breaking the record for the most expensive drug in the world again. Many netizens directly said that "it can't be cured, and it can't be sicker" and "Once diagnosed, it is still a death sentence."

1. Why do "life-saving medicines" frequently fall into the vicious cycle of sky-high prices and turn into "money-burning needles"?

In less than half a year, the "world's most expensive drug" has changed owners three times in gene therapy. The US$2.8 million and US$3 million products of Bluebird Biotech have successively reached the peak of high prices, and now the above-mentioned Hemgenix therapy has once again broken through the price ceiling. The astonishing numbers that exploded again and again are all provoking the sensitive nerves of the public.

After the first tongue, people can't help but ask "help or urge life" question? In this regard, Cao Jian, director of the Medical Service Index Research Institute of Shanghai Jiaotong University, said: " It is an indisputable fact that research and development costs are high ."

The price is not inflated, it is supported by high human and financial costs and decades of time costs. According to data released by the US Food and Drug Administration, the prevalence of hemophilia b is 1/40,000. The proportion of patients with rare diseases is small and the types are different, requiring companies to develop different treatment methods in a targeted manner. It is reported that the average total cost of each product is as high as 1 billion US dollars, and the treatment of rare diseases such as hemophilia b is more "burning money".

More importantly, not all scientific research projects can be "cultivated", and many of them die halfway or fail eventually. Statistics show that during the period from 2011 to 2020, the success rate of rare disease treatments approved by the US FDA was only 17%.

The initial investment is large, and the number of consumers is scarce. In order to ensure benefits, biotech companies can only share costs through high pricing. Ten years ago, the "Sealeria" technical molecules developed by American scientists to intervene in aging were also priced at 1.5 million yuan due to high costs. R&D investment is still a gap between enterprises and users. Cao Jian also said, "If the revenue of biotechnology companies cannot cover the costs, it will reduce their enthusiasm for research and development, which will not be conducive to the use of new products by the people."

2. "Having money without medicine is a natural disaster, but having medicine without money is a man-made disaster"

The "Gleevec Incident" in the prototype of "I'm Not the God of Medicine" has passed for many years, but there are still many similar incidents that continue to occur. Although the landing of scientific research results allows people to have medicines, the sky-high price threshold also keeps people away. The classic line in the movie "Having money without medicine is a natural disaster, but having medicine without money is a man-made disaster" has also touched the hearts of countless people.

For the rich, these fees are only a small sum, but for ordinary income groups, they are enough to "break the family." A similar situation also appeared in the life extension black technology. Before his death, the king of gambling spent 50 million yuan a month on brain injections. Many rich people in China spent 4 million yuan and organized a group to Ukraine to inject stem cells. Hong Kong rich man Li Chaoren also spent 1.5 million yuan a year on the same kind of "Sealerui" to suppress his decline. tonic.

Citing journal articles such as "Cell" and "Science", the core components of the above-mentioned technology have been confirmed in multiple experiments to clear aging cells, activate protein Sirtuins, and improve energy and exercise endurance in the experimental group, which was later confirmed to be related to reproductive aging. Its discoverer, New Clair, said that before that, the Harvard laboratory received calls from many rich people every day, all asking about the purchase channel of the substance, all wanting to get the secret of "life preservation".

Now the finished product "Sailorui" behind it has landed. Although the price is expensive, it still attracts many groups to get it from JD.com. It is understood that some users have purchased more than a dozen bottles at one time during Double 11, with a turnover of over 100,000 yuan. However, this is only a carnival for high-income groups, and most ordinary-income groups can only wait and see.

The good news is that in recent years, there have been continuous measures aimed at high-priced technological products, such as lowering tax rates, negotiating prices and procurement by the national team, and including medical insurance. In 2017, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security led the first national negotiation on China's medical insurance access, and finally 36 technological products entered the medical insurance catalog, and the average retail price dropped by as much as 70% year-on-year. The original price of 700,000 per injection of Nosinara was reduced to 33,000 per bottle, and the tens of thousands of heart stents also ushered in the era of 100 yuan. Many patients' families have been able to reduce their burden and regain their lives. As Zhang Jinni, negotiator of the National Medical Insurance Bureau, said: "Every small group should not be abandoned."

3. When will high-priced technological products step down from the altar?

Tax cuts and price bargaining are only one aspect. The key to the downfall of high-priced technological products lies in technological breakthroughs. The sky-high price of anti-aging supplements, previously known as the "life-saving medicine for the rich", has now dropped in price. The minimum price of the above-mentioned Nissan "Sailerui" has dropped to about 5,000 yuan. Jingdong user portraits show that its owners are mostly located in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and are mainly high-net-worth male groups. From this point of view, although the technology still has a distance for some groups, the move to the sky-high price has also given people hope.

The progress of the country's scientific research strength has also made it possible to popularize many high-tech parities. The heart stent, which originally cost tens of thousands of yuan, has completed a domestically made parity replacement at a price of one hundred yuan. With technological breakthroughs, the above-mentioned "Sailary" may sink further and fly into the homes of ordinary people. Winter has come, can spring be far behind?