People pay billions of dollars in prescription medicine every year. But just what medicine qualifies as the most expensive of them all?
That medicine, according to Forbes, is Soliris. Soliris is made by Alexion Pharmaceuticals and is used to treat paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, otherwise known as PNH. PNH is a form of anemia, but it’s an extremely rare form. Instead of being inherited, as other forms of anemia are, PNH is acquired. What also differentiates PNH from other forms of anemia is the fact that instead of the body having a low production of red blood cells, as is the case with common forms of anemia, the body actually destroys red blood cells. This not only makes PNH much rarer, but also much more dangerous.
PNH is so rare that it’s estimated that only about 8,000 Americans suffer from it. Because of this, Alexion Pharmaceuticals doesn’t have many people competing with them in regards to the medication for it. And it’s because there are no competitors for it that Alexion can charge $409,500.
That medicine, according to Forbes, is Soliris. Soliris is made by Alexion Pharmaceuticals and is used to treat paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, otherwise known as PNH. PNH is a form of anemia, but it’s an extremely rare form. Instead of being inherited, as other forms of anemia are, PNH is acquired. What also differentiates PNH from other forms of anemia is the fact that instead of the body having a low production of red blood cells, as is the case with common forms of anemia, the body actually destroys red blood cells. This not only makes PNH much rarer, but also much more dangerous.
PNH is so rare that it’s estimated that only about 8,000 Americans suffer from it. Because of this, Alexion Pharmaceuticals doesn’t have many people competing with them in regards to the medication for it. And it’s because there are no competitors for it that Alexion can charge $409,500.
Soliris
