A newly approved treatment from Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) that targets roughly 90% of all cystic fibrosis patients may be a groundbreaking therapy, but requires a steep discount of at least 73% to be cost effective, a new analysis finds. And three older cystic fibrosis treatments sold by the company would also have to be similarly discounted in order to justify their pricing.
Notably, the Trikafta medication, which was approved last fall by the Food and Drug Administration amid widespread praise, would need to be priced at $67,900 to $85,500 a year, according to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a nonprofit that conducted the analysis. This is dramatically less than the current wholesale price of $311,740 for the drug, which patients must take for their entire lives.
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