Price Tag Panic.BLOCKBUSTER DRUG A blockbuster drug is a drug generating more than $1 billion of revenue for its owner each year. The search for blockbusters has been the foundation of the R&D strategy adopted by big pharmaceutical companies, but this looks set to change. TAXOL, PRESCRIBED FOR LUNG, ovarian and breast cancer, as well as AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma Kaposi's sarcoma (käp`əshē', kəpō`sē), a usually fatal cancer that was considered rare until its appearance in AIDS patients. , earned its manufacturer US$1.5 billion annually. But Bristol Myers-Squibb recently lost the patent, sparking a pricing scramble. This year, not only is generic drug generic drug, a drug sold or prescribed under the nonproprietary name of its active ingredients or under a generally descriptive name rather than under a brand or trade name. maker IVAX IVAX Industrial Vax (Dec Computer) gearing up to produce a generic form of Taxol in the United States, there is also talk of allowing drug imports. These include brand name drugs produced by U.S. companies but sold at heavily discounted prices in Latin America. Drug companies say that's bad news for their well-funded research and development programs. But patients and insurance companies herald the potential price tag relief.
Price of Taxol (100 mg)
UNITED STATES $487
ARGENTINA $190
BRAZIL $129
MEXICO $118
VENEZUELA $109
SOURCE: Bristol-Myers Squibb
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