Drug prices remain one of the hottest topics in the United States. The reasons are obvious – some of them cost close to the price of an expensive luxury car that needs to be bought every month. And in this case, we are not talking about drugs dispensed in a hospital or a doctor’s office, we are talking about drugs that are sold in pharmacies.
Many Americans still cannot afford expensive medication and have to borrow money from banks. Those who have a poor credit history are not eligible doe a bank loan, Instead, they seek help in microfinance institutions that approve 94% of applications. For example, to get accepted for bad credit loans Georgia, consumers only need to have a steady income and some kind of identity verification. If accepted, funds are credited to the borrower’s bank account as soon as the same day.
So, according to GoodRx, the cost of the TOP-20 most expensive drugs in US pharmacies in January 2021 ranged from $71,306 for a month’s course of therapy (Myalept (metreleptin) by Amryt Pharma) to $27,421 (Tibsovo (ivosidenib) by Agios Pharmaceuticals). So, the TOP-20 included (prices are presented without discounts, the most expensive drugs administered only under medical supervision at the hospital or outpatient level are excluded from the rating, for example, it did not include the Zolgensma gene therapy from Novartis for $2.125 million per infusion):
These are the most expensive meds in the US
- Myalept, with a whopping $71,306 for a month’s course of therapy – 14 vials (a drug designed to treat complications caused by leptin deficiency in people with lipodystrophy, a rare disease that leaves little to no fat throughout the body);
- Ravicti (glycerol phenylbutyrate) from Horizon Therapeutics, priced at $55,341 for a month’s course of therapy (a drug designed to treat chronic disorders caused by urea cycle disorders in newborns, infants, children and adults);
- Actimmune (interferon gamma-1b) from Horizon Pharma, priced at $52,777 per month of therapy (approved for two indications: reducing the purity and severity of severe infections associated with chronic granulomatosis and delaying the progression of severe osteopetrosis / marble disease);
- Oxervate (cenegermin-bkbj) from the Italian company Dompé with a price tag of $48 498 per month of therapy (the drug is the first FDA-approved treatment that can completely cure neurotrophic keratitis, a rare condition that can lead to loss of vision);
- Takhzyro (lanadelumab) from Shire (a division of Takeda Pharmaceutical), priced at $45,464 per month of therapy (approved for patients 12 years and older suffering from hereditary angioedema I and II);
- Daraprim (pyrimethamine) from Turing Pharmaceuticals with a price tag of $45,000 for a month’s course of therapy (a drug for the treatment of toxoplasmosis);
- Juxtapid (lomitapide) from Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, priced at $44,714 per month of therapy (FDA approved for lowering cholesterol, including low density lipoprotein, in adults with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia);
- Cinryze (C1-INH) from Dublin-Shark at $44,141 per month (FDA approved for adolescents and adults with hereditary angioedema);
- Chenodal (chenodeoxycholic acid) from Leadiant Biosciences with a price of $42,570 per month therapy (the drug helps to dissolve gallstones and is used to remove them when this cannot be done with surgical or endoscopic methods. It is also used to treat a rare genetic disorder cerebrotendinal xanthomatosis);
- Gattex (teduglutide) from Takeda Pharmaceutical with a price tag of $40,450 per month of therapy (approved for the treatment of short bowel syndrome in adults and children 1 year and older);
- H.P. Acthar (repository corticotropin injection) from Mallinckrodt with a price tag of $39,864 per month of therapy (the drug was approved by the FDA over 50 years ago, but in 2010 the FDA expanded its indications for its use and is now indicated for 19 diseases and conditions, including lupus. rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis);
- Tegsedi (inotersen) from Akcea Therapeutics, priced at $34,600 for a month’s course of therapy (the drug is intended for the treatment of patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (hATTR), a rare disease that causes amyloid accumulation in the peripheral nervous system and many organs);
- Vitrakvi (larotrectinib) from Bayer, $32,800 per month (approved for solid tumors associated with NTRK fusion and indicated for patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer or in situations where tumor resection may result in serious condition, but there are no acceptable treatment options);
- Ayvakit (avapritinib) from Blueprint Medicines with a price tag of $32,000 for a month of therapy (a drug for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST);
- Kynamro (mipomersen) from Kastle Therapeutics with a price tag of $30,444 per month of therapy (the drug is approved as an adjunctive therapy to lipid-lowering drugs and a diet to reduce low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B (apo-B), total cholesterol (GC ), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia);
- Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) from Gilead Sciences, priced at $28,000 for a month’s treatment (approved for hepatitis C);
- Viekira Pak (ombitasvir, paritaprevir, ritonavir, and dasabuvir) from AbbVie at $27,773 per month of therapy (approved for hepatitis C);
- Viekira XR (dasabuvir, ombitasvir, paritaprevir and ritonavir) from AbbVie at $27,773 per month (approved for hepatitis C);
- Tibsovo (ivosidenib) from Agios Pharmaceuticals, priced at $27,421 per month of therapy (approved for use in patients with recurrent or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (r / r AML) with a treatment-susceptible isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation).