My Health Journal

A few months ago my mother was diagnosed with wet macular degeneration.  This is a condition that gradually erodes vision to the point of blindness.  Fortunately there are treatments available for this cruel condition.  Treatment can’t reverse damage that’s already occurred, but it may stop future damage to the eye and prevent blindness.

My mother’s ophthalmologist explained that there are two drugs that treat this condition:  Lucentis and Avastin.  Lucentis was designed and approved to treat wet macular degeneration.  Avastin was designed and approved to treat colo-rectal cancer.  However, the two drugs are so similar at the molecular level that doctors realized Avastin could be used to do the same thing as Lucentis.

The one dramatic difference between the two drugs is their price.  Lucentis is $2,000/dose and Avastin is $100/dose. Because the doctor prescribed a course of 10 treatment for my mother this would mean a final price tag of $20,000 for Lucentis.  Obviously she opted for the Avastin which will cost her a total of $1,000.  Unfortunately Manitoba Health doesn’t cover the cost of either drug so she has to bear the cost.  (This varies amongst different provinces.)  But at least a $1,000 price tag is achievable whereas $20,000 would be impossible.

The group most affected by wet macular degeneration is seniors.  How many seniors can afford to pay an unexpected bill of $20,000?  And how cruel is it to tell someone they have to choose between going blind or selling their house (assuming they own one)?

To add insult to injury Genentech, the drug company that produces both Lucentis and Avastin reportedly has refused to submit Avastin for trials as a wet macular degeneration treatment.  This flys in the face of the argument drug companies have always made, somewhat convincingly, that they must charge high prices in order to pay for research into new medicines.  However, by Genentech’s own calculations, they are able to provide Avastin for a fraction of the price of Lucentis.

If Avastin is not formally approved as a wet macular degeneration treatment then Canadian authorities, fearing liability issues, are unlikely to agree to fund it.  Clearly if Manitoba Health ever decides to cover wet macular degeneration treatments then Genentech would prefer to sell them Lucentis at $2,000/dose instead of Avastin at $100/dose.  Small wonder that health costs, which all of us pay for via our taxes, are constantly on the rise.

Here’s an excellent article, dated Oct 27, 2009, on this subject:  http://www.amdsupport.ca/2009/10/27/avastin-as-effective-as-lucentis-for-macular-degeneration/