Sanders Demands Answer For Cancer Drug’s $200,000 Cost

After the nation took notice of Bernie Sanders’ tweet denouncing Ariad Pharmaceuticals’ rapid price hike on a cancer drug, the Vermont senator sent a letter on Oct. 20 to the company’s chief executive requesting more information about the reason for raising the drug’s prices in such quick succession.

“In the interest of patients and taxpayers, we are interested in learning more about the impact that the escalating price and restrictions on product availability have had,” said the letter, signed by Sanders and Democratic Sen. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, according to The Independent.

The letter came days after Sanders tweeted a link to a Stat News article about Ariad and lambasted “drug corporations’ greed” for “unbelievable” price hikes.

By the end of the day, Ariad’s stock had plummeted.

The company released a statement following the letters from Sanders and Cummings.

“We recognize oncology drugs are expensive, but we believe in the importance and efficacy of our products,” said the statement, according to The Washington Post. “Importantly, to achieve its mission, Ariad has invested more than $1.3 billion in [research and development] and accumulated losses of approximately $1.4 billion since the Company was founded, which have not been recovered.”

The company has raised prices of their Iclusig chronic myeloid leukemia treatment four times — 27 percent — since the start of 2016, notes Stat. Before rebates or discounts, a yearly supply of the drug costs nearly $199,000. The price hikes began in 2015, after the company significantly narrowed the eligible market.

“There are a growing number of situations where there are no legitimate alternative treatment choices,” said Dr. Clifford Hudis, the head of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. “Instead, a very narrowly targeted and highly effective drug is the accepted standard of care making it inappropriate to consider other approaches. This highlights some of the ongoing challenges we must confront as we recognize that conventional market forces do not readily lead to efficient pricing of cancer treatments.”

Sources: The Independent, The Washington Post, Bernie Sanders/Twitter, Stat / Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr