Genentech deserves some support for its move last week to cap the annual price on Avastin at $55,000 as it won approval to use the drug to treat lung cancer. Few patients or their insurers will spend that amount, as Avastin provides an average of two more months of life. But no patient should have to choose between a drug and utter financial ruin. To help low-income patients, Genentech is also likely to add more assistance.
The price model on drugs, of course, is designed to cover the astronomical expense of developing therapies as well as the profits that Wall Street demands and--let's face it--successful drug developers privately exult in. I don't believe for a second that biotech companies are motivated solely by money. I also don't believe much of this work would be advanced without the potential rewards. As drug developers test the limits of just how much they can price a drug, they would do well to show some restraint. Too much profit will ultimately threaten price controls. - John Carroll