I had an MS scare. My Type 2 diabetes medicine had worked “too well.” Bydureon (once a week — formerly Byetta, twice a day). It raises your insulin and cuts your blood sugar — the smart drug; acts more or less as you eat more or less. Not incidentally caused me to lose 50 pounds in 50 weeks
Guess what else? Instead of the gradual decrease in beta (insulin producing) cells that historically turned Type 2’s into Type 1s, the Glp-1 drugs (Victoza, Trulicity other examples I believe) maintain your beta cells and can even rebuild them. Latter happened to me.
My blood sugar was getting so low I was getting MS type exhaustion symptoms.
* * * * * *
To get to the point of this essay. While researching MS I discovered there’s a new drug, Ocrelizumab, available this spring that for the first time slows the progression of Primary-Progressive MS (PPMS) which relentlessly takes you downward and afflicts about 15% (simplifying) — and adds 50% more stretch out time between attacks for Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS) over the stretch out time of older drugs.
So if (my weak understanding) time between attacks can be same as time suffering attacks — and if older drugs doubled that time — and if Ocrelizumab added 50% to that — I figured I was probably in pretty good shape if I had MS.
Here comes the economics part. The older treatments cost $65,000 a year. Maybe not too many takers considering dangers — don’t know. Even if the new treatment price stays there — and doesn’t go up every year — with 400,000 MS sufferers in the US that comes to $25 billion (with a “b”) every year.
Last night NBC Nightly News portrayed a breakthrough (that word is becoming more common) drug that can finally set aside chronic migraine headaches — for millions. Cost: $10,000 a year. Times millions of patients that comes to tens of billions a year.
All wild pricing blamed on the need to support risky research — risky (supposedly) for Wall Street. The endocrinologist who led the development of the infamously expensive Hep C cure (Sovaldi, $100,000 treatment — $150 to manufacture) was working 7 out of 8 hours for the VA when the government supported research showed promise. Our crazy laws allowed him and his friend to switch research funding to themselves (raised in Ireland of course). His personal take before his Pharmasset (as in assets) sold out to Gilead: $446 million.
Gilead’s a book in itself between halting research for five years on a serious-side effect free version of its AIDS drug — while old patent ran — to wanting $75,000 for a 95% cure of all types of Hepatitis; that’s $22.5 trillion (with a “t”) for 300 million sufferers world wide.
Private drug research in US goes for $50 billion a year ($20 billion less the EITC). Researchers can come to us instead of Wall Street. Government grants $25 billion right now.
Wait until they get a cure of Alzheimer’s — and you get Alzheimer’s; or your loved ones get Alzheimer’s — they will ask you to sell your house …
… and you will.
My Byrdorean’s endocrinologist (right-hand man to Nobel Prize winner) is still on VA salary as far as I know. Found molecule in the saliva of a gila monster.
Endless breakthroughs. Now some substance found on the bottom of the ocean when combined with laser light can cure 50% of prostate cancers. Usual side effects mostly disappear in three months — all gone in two years. Expect to make it 100% effective — and use for other cancers. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/314830.php
PS. To set my new eating without Bydoreon routine I have to do a lot of blood sugar testing at first. Medicare pays for one a day for Type 2 — two a day for Type 1. Accu-Chek Active (latest model): $200 for 100 tabs. Imagine if you have to test all day, every day (on insulin?).
Tracked down older Accu-Chek Active model on Amazon. Tabs: $20 for 100. Patient bleed for latest patent — or (bring back the pin factory) maybe they are making them by hand?
I had an MS scare. My Type 2 diabetes medicine had worked “too well.” Bydureon (once a week — formerly Byetta, twice a day). It raises your insulin and cuts your blood sugar — the smart drug; acts more or less as you eat more or less. Not incidentally caused me to lose 50 pounds in 50 weeks
Guess what else? Instead of the gradual decrease in beta (insulin producing) cells that historically turned Type 2’s into Type 1s, the Glp-1 drugs (Victoza, Trulicity other examples I believe) maintain your beta cells and can even rebuild them. Latter happened to me.
My blood sugar was getting so low I was getting MS type exhaustion symptoms.
* * * * * *
To get to the point of this essay. While researching MS I discovered there’s a new drug, Ocrelizumab, available this spring that for the first time slows the progression of Primary-Progressive MS (PPMS) which relentlessly takes you downward and afflicts about 15% (simplifying) — and adds 50% more stretch out time between attacks for Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS) over the stretch out time of older drugs.
Bigger advantage of Ocrelizumab, it doesn’t open you up for fatal brain infections that the older drugs did. Older drugs protected your brain from attack by your own immune system by disabling same — too much of same. Ocrelizumab narrowly targets only the very specific components that cause the disease.
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2016/12/22/New-MS-drug-shows-breakthrough-promise-for-advanced-disease/2731482434698/
So if (my weak understanding) time between attacks can be same as time suffering attacks — and if older drugs doubled that time — and if Ocrelizumab added 50% to that — I figured I was probably in pretty good shape if I had MS.
Here comes the economics part. The older treatments cost $65,000 a year. Maybe not too many takers considering dangers — don’t know. Even if the new treatment price stays there — and doesn’t go up every year — with 400,000 MS sufferers in the US that comes to $25 billion (with a “b”) every year.
Last night NBC Nightly News portrayed a breakthrough (that word is becoming more common) drug that can finally set aside chronic migraine headaches — for millions. Cost: $10,000 a year. Times millions of patients that comes to tens of billions a year.
All wild pricing blamed on the need to support risky research — risky (supposedly) for Wall Street. The endocrinologist who led the development of the infamously expensive Hep C cure (Sovaldi, $100,000 treatment — $150 to manufacture) was working 7 out of 8 hours for the VA when the government supported research showed promise. Our crazy laws allowed him and his friend to switch research funding to themselves (raised in Ireland of course). His personal take before his Pharmasset (as in assets) sold out to Gilead: $446 million.
Gilead’s a book in itself between halting research for five years on a serious-side effect free version of its AIDS drug — while old patent ran — to wanting $75,000 for a 95% cure of all types of Hepatitis; that’s $22.5 trillion (with a “t”) for 300 million sufferers world wide.
Private drug research in US goes for $50 billion a year ($20 billion less the EITC). Researchers can come to us instead of Wall Street. Government grants $25 billion right now.
Wait until they get a cure of Alzheimer’s — and you get Alzheimer’s; or your loved ones get Alzheimer’s — they will ask you to sell your house …
… and you will.
My Byrdorean’s endocrinologist (right-hand man to Nobel Prize winner) is still on VA salary as far as I know. Found molecule in the saliva of a gila monster.
Endless breakthroughs. Now some substance found on the bottom of the ocean when combined with laser light can cure 50% of prostate cancers. Usual side effects mostly disappear in three months — all gone in two years. Expect to make it 100% effective — and use for other cancers.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/314830.php
PS. To set my new eating without Bydoreon routine I have to do a lot of blood sugar testing at first. Medicare pays for one a day for Type 2 — two a day for Type 1. Accu-Chek Active (latest model): $200 for 100 tabs. Imagine if you have to test all day, every day (on insulin?).
Tracked down older Accu-Chek Active model on Amazon. Tabs: $20 for 100. Patient bleed for latest patent — or (bring back the pin factory) maybe they are making them by hand?