Posted by Steve Santen on December 01, 1997 at 21:32:28:
In Reply to: Re: Profit motive? posted by Charlie L. on December 01, 1997 at 20:54:11:
Charlie:
Whould it be better to price an islet cell transplant at $5,000 so that millions could afford (1,000,000 x $5,000 equals $5 billion) or would it be better to price it so that only a handful could afford and no insurance company would cover? Certainly, you will not have to sell your house for this treatment. If you did and you needed another refill after a few years then what would you do having made your family destitute? The highest estimate I have seen is for the treatment to cost $20,000. The lower numbers put it within the range of insurance coverage. Certainly, advances like Desmos will lower the number more. So, if it cost $5,000 and a refill is needed ever couple of years, I'd say that the overall cost is smaller than intensive insulin therapy and expensive testing. If the $5,000 can be streched to 5 or ten years and the complications can be avoided the economics of the therapy become overwehlming.
Consider that $100,000,000,000 is spent in the US on the care of diabetics (type I and II). 5% of this number is insignificant. There is a profit motive in a cure, it is just not as big as analog insulin (no competitors, $70,000,000 spent annually). The big money is in the annuity not in a cure. A cure will make some one rich but the overall numbers are small compared to $70 million a year for the next twelve or so years under patent.
Steve