drug comp. aren't all bad

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I know I'll probably get a few negative responses to this, but drug

companies aren't all that bad. I have been on Remicade since 2000. In 2004 I was

unemployed for almost 3 months and Remicade's assistance program paid my entire

costs for 4 treatments. At that time, I was using the local hospital and it

charged $3,000+ for administration of the medication plus the med cost. Remicade

was developed by Centocor, which is now a company of & . In

January 2005 I started a new job, with health insurance, 2 days before my

scheduled treatment, and Centocor still picked up the tab rather than make me

wait for pre-approval from my insurance company & interrupt my schedule. I'll

always be grateful to them because of that.

Regarding, the price of meds (specifically the biologics) there are

several important reasons why the meds cost so much. Like it or not, arthritis

is NOT on the NIH's list of most important diseases -- nor is it on Congress'.

Companies, new and old, get subsidies for developing drugs for AIDS, cancer,

heart disease -- and erectile dysfunction. Arthritis is not a priority for this

government (and not just this administration). For Centocor (and I researched

this info through FOIA) Remicade was their first drug and it was originally

approved for Crohn's disease. They opened shop in a small town in PA without any

fed assistance. Sure, they had investors, but do you realize how expensive it

was to develop the 1st non-pill drug (this includes Enbrel) for diseases the

general public rarely knows/cares about???

We care about arthritis because we know the damage it has caused to our

lives -- the dreams it has stolen, the people we used to be, the money we have

spent, the hope when we try a new medication, the despair when that med doesn't,

and the guilt that those of us (myself included) sometimes feel when we achieve

remission through a medication. Why me and not someone who has suffered longer?

I am, selfishly, grateful it is me but I worry about those of you that struggle.

And achieving remission doesn't mean that my RA doesn't permeate every facet of

my life and every piece of my soul.

So, don't just complain about the price of the biologics and problems

with Medicare part D or any other health problem -- do something about it. There

is a bill in Congress called the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act (S.

626 / H.R. 1283) that the Foundation is trying to pass to make arthritis

reasearch and meds a national priority. Here is a link:

http://www.arthritis.org/apcca.php.

Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox now.

Take care,

Steph in VA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 2007 Charlottesville Arthritis Walk was a success!

We raised just over $30,000 for research & programs for people with arthritis!

" Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of people to change

the world -- indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. " (Margaret Mead)

---------------------------------

Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.