A small Canadian drug maker is offering to make a prostate cancer medicine that consumer groups and several Democratic lawmakers, including Bernie Sanders, believe is too costly for most Americans.
Biolyse Pharma maintains that it can supply a version of Xtandi for $3 per 40-milligram tablet, compared with the $69.41 that Medicare paid in 2014. “The offer involves dramatic savings to the US government,” the privately held manufacturer wrote in an April 22 email to the US Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. The company believes it can make a version of the drug available in three years.
The drug maker also noted the US government holds a royalty-free right to license the medicine to other manufacturers. A spokesman for Biolyse, which is working with a pair of consumer groups on its proposal, maintained the US government “can act right now.” The treatment, which has a list price of more than $129,000 in the US, is currently marketed by Astellas and Medivation.
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