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The women suffering from postpartum depression are presumably getting way more than $16k in value from the treatment. Furthermore, developing drugs and bringin
by xeckr 3y ago
The women suffering from postpartum depression are presumably getting way more than $16k in value from the treatment.
Furthermore, developing drugs and bringing them to market is a long, expensive process.
- zug_zug 3y agoDoubt it. You can calculate what % of mothers feel this way by selling it (no insurance) for 15k and see who buys it…
- jacquesm 3y agoThe price of the pill is not related to whether it works or not.
- zug_zug 3y agoThe price of the pill must be weighed against the effectiveness of the pill. A 15k treatment can't just be 10% better than placebo to be cost-effective, it needs to be better than any other use of 15k to be justified.
- xeckr 3y agoPresumably this is exactly what Biogen-Sage Therapeutics is doing.
- tyingq 3y agoWell, maybe they get 16k in value, maybe it doesn't work for them at all. Pretty expensive gamble.
- xeckr 3y agoThen take the success probability and multiply it by the value a woman would expect from being free of PPD. I'd wager it's still considerably higher than $16k.
- tyingq 3y agoI'm noting it's less clear than other expensive things like the meds that cure hep c. In that case, you're weighing the cost of a near certain cure. I've not seen any sort of depression med with that kind of clarity of effectiveness.
- xeckr 3y agoThe FDA's press release didn't say anything about the success rate, only that the test group had significantly lower levels of depression than the control group. It's true that a lot of antidepressants fail to improve symptoms in a lot of people. The effectiveness of this particular drug better be outstanding, otherwise Biogen-Sage won't be able to justify the high price compared to other antidepressants.
- ThePowerOfFuet 3y agoStop that. Drugs don't cost anywhere near that in Europe. It's profiteering, plain and simple.
- xeckr 3y agoStop trolling. Everything I said is true. The very expensive drugs you're seeing in the US are generally ones that won't be available in Europe for a long time, no matter how much money you bring to the table. If you really want them, you'll end up spending more money than your American counterparts because you'll also have to buy a plane ticket to fly over.
- newaccount74 3y agoFor 16k you could hire a full time nanny who helps the mother care for the newborn in the first weeks/months. How effective is the drug in comparison to providing assistance like that?