PCSK9 inhibitors cost $14,000 a year, triple what older cholesterol drugs cost before they went generic, and have become a front line in the war over drug prices. The move could start a price war with Amgen, which makes the other PCSK9 drug. Instead, patient advocates and doctors say an Orwellian web of nonsensical denials and paperwork made getting PCSK9 drugs a matter of resources and luck. This morning, shares of Regeneron and Sanofi, the Medicines Company, which is developing a new PCSK9 drug, and Esperion, which is developing a competing drug, are all flat. Drug costs are a problem, and some patients are suffering because drug prices are too high and they cannot afford medicines they need.

Source: Forbes March 12, 2018 15:29 UTC