Why Me?
Admin note: My sincerest apologies for sort of falling off the earth there for a while. Between grad school applications, the holidays, post-holiday crap, a kidney infection, and work, I didn't have much time to read the news, let alone be snarky about it. I'm still pretty terrifically busy, so I'm going to intensify my search for a co-blogger, to kind of help me out and take some of the pressure off me. Interested? Leave a comment! I'm also playing around with some formatting changes, so stay tuned for those!
Teaser:The nurse told me Abbott has a program in place for the transition of Humira to market, wherein patients whose insurance will not cover Humira, or will charge a significant amount to do so, can continue getting the drug from Abbott for free. Additionally, there is an income component, where the cost of Humira is considered vis-a-vis a person's income, and this too can qualify the patient for free medication. Obviously, this was great news. But my happiness was followed by a single question: Why me?
Today is a bit more personal. This morning I had an appointment with my GI, a 3-month visit required of patients participating in an "open-label" clinical trial of Humira. I have Crohn's Disease, and this trial is the last step before Humira becomes commercially available for the treatment of Crohn's; it's already available for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Now you know the backstory.
I mentioned to the trial nurse that I'd read an article which stated that Abbott Laboratories hopes to make Humira commercially available sometime this year, possibly as soon as this summer. Once this happens, the trial will end, and I will need to pay for my medications. I had investigated my insurance company's coverage of Humira, and because it is non-formulary with no available generics, it would run me something like $200 a month. Switching to another medication or giving up Humira is not an option; I would become sick, require surgery to remove a section of my intestines, and generally have my life destroyed. This is not an exaggeration.
The nurse told me Abbott has a program in place for the transition of Humira to market, wherein patients whose insurance will not cover Humira, or will charge a significant amount to do so, can continue getting the drug from Abbott for free. Additionally, there is an income component, where the cost of Humira is considered vis-a-vis a person's income, and this too can qualify the patient for free medication. Obviously, this was great news. But my happiness was followed by a single question: Why me?
Not "Why me?" as in "Why do I have this disease?"
"Why me?" as in "Why should I receive free medication? Why me, why this drug, and not other people, other medications?"
Abbott Labs recently tangled with Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) regarding a new, simplified, heat-stable AIDS treatment. The problem? Abbott refused to register the drug in third-world countries, including Africa.
Well, let me be fair. After months and months of pressure from MSF, Abbott agreed to sell the drug to MSF for use in its Africa programs, but STILL has not registered the drug in any developing nation, and refuses to extend the same offer for MSF programs in Guatemala and Thailand.
Let me break this down for you: Abbott is refusing to sell its own drug, for reasons best known to itself. Yet they will give me a drug for free.
I have no idea how much money is spent on Crohn's research compared to AIDS research (Google failed me), and there are A LOT more people with AIDS than Crohn's. It just makes no sense to me to ostensibly develop a drug for an intended market only to NOT SELL it in that market.
I explained this conundrum to midtermmockery, who perhaps captured the problem best:
"You're trying to use ethics, logic, and goodwill to figure these people out. Wise up, will ya?"
It's violating my inner economist.
Teaser:The nurse told me Abbott has a program in place for the transition of Humira to market, wherein patients whose insurance will not cover Humira, or will charge a significant amount to do so, can continue getting the drug from Abbott for free. Additionally, there is an income component, where the cost of Humira is considered vis-a-vis a person's income, and this too can qualify the patient for free medication. Obviously, this was great news. But my happiness was followed by a single question: Why me?
Today is a bit more personal. This morning I had an appointment with my GI, a 3-month visit required of patients participating in an "open-label" clinical trial of Humira. I have Crohn's Disease, and this trial is the last step before Humira becomes commercially available for the treatment of Crohn's; it's already available for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Now you know the backstory.
I mentioned to the trial nurse that I'd read an article which stated that Abbott Laboratories hopes to make Humira commercially available sometime this year, possibly as soon as this summer. Once this happens, the trial will end, and I will need to pay for my medications. I had investigated my insurance company's coverage of Humira, and because it is non-formulary with no available generics, it would run me something like $200 a month. Switching to another medication or giving up Humira is not an option; I would become sick, require surgery to remove a section of my intestines, and generally have my life destroyed. This is not an exaggeration.
The nurse told me Abbott has a program in place for the transition of Humira to market, wherein patients whose insurance will not cover Humira, or will charge a significant amount to do so, can continue getting the drug from Abbott for free. Additionally, there is an income component, where the cost of Humira is considered vis-a-vis a person's income, and this too can qualify the patient for free medication. Obviously, this was great news. But my happiness was followed by a single question: Why me?
Not "Why me?" as in "Why do I have this disease?"
"Why me?" as in "Why should I receive free medication? Why me, why this drug, and not other people, other medications?"
Abbott Labs recently tangled with Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) regarding a new, simplified, heat-stable AIDS treatment. The problem? Abbott refused to register the drug in third-world countries, including Africa.
Well, let me be fair. After months and months of pressure from MSF, Abbott agreed to sell the drug to MSF for use in its Africa programs, but STILL has not registered the drug in any developing nation, and refuses to extend the same offer for MSF programs in Guatemala and Thailand.
Let me break this down for you: Abbott is refusing to sell its own drug, for reasons best known to itself. Yet they will give me a drug for free.
I have no idea how much money is spent on Crohn's research compared to AIDS research (Google failed me), and there are A LOT more people with AIDS than Crohn's. It just makes no sense to me to ostensibly develop a drug for an intended market only to NOT SELL it in that market.
I explained this conundrum to midtermmockery, who perhaps captured the problem best:
"You're trying to use ethics, logic, and goodwill to figure these people out. Wise up, will ya?"
It's violating my inner economist.