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STAT Plus: Vertex’s new cystic fibrosis drug needs to be far cheaper to be cost-effective, analysis finds
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. Three older cystic fibrosis treatments sold by the company would also have to be similarly discounted in order to justify their pricing, according to the analysis.
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 to be cost-effective, according to the Institute for 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.
