Biotech drugs: miracle remedies or just more expensive?

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, March 29, 2005

The Associated Press today had a thought-provoking take on biotech’s new drugs, including the kind of anti-cancer drugs that local companies (like Seattle Genetics in Bothell, for one) are working on.

The story’s point boils down to: How much are we willing to pay for drugs that might only extend our lives by a couple of months? Can the health insurance industry keep bearing those rising costs?

From the story: “Some of the most costly drugs … are called ‘targeted therapies,’ because they attack cancerous cells while leaving healthy ones alone. The hope was that they would eliminate chemotherapy. But that hasn’t happened. All are still given to cancer patients in combination with standard chemotherapy.”

But the story also points out that for other patients, these drugs really do have a huge effect, extending their lives by years … Here’s the link:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/29/financial/f152217S42.DTL&type=health