Posted by Michael Wonder on 26 Mar 2018
Canada probes Horizon Pharma over efforts to boost sales of a rare disease drug
26 March 2018 - Canadian authorities are reviewing whether Horizon Pharma violated pricing and advertising laws in connection with its efforts to boost sales of a newly approved rare disease drug that costs about $230,000 and replaced an older, similar medicine — which cost a fraction of the price.
At issue is a medicine called Procysbi, which Health Canada endorsed last August for treating cystinosis, a disorder that causes poor growth and kidney damage, and afflicts about one in every 100,000 to 200,000 newborns worldwide.
But the approval has ushered in a controversy, raising questions about the trade-off between encouraging innovation and maintaining accessibility.
