Dramatic drug price increase leaves patients scrambling
Sodium cromoglycate is a safe, effective, no longer commonly used medication that's been around for more than 50 years. Suddenly it's become very costly for those who use it.
For patients like Robyn Fernandez, it's been a lifesaver -- literally.
"Basically, it gave me my quality of life back," the 24-year-old told CTV News Toronto. Fernandez lives with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, an immunological condition which causes symptoms including anaphylaxis.
"It's basically your immune system is on hyper drive and overreacts to everything. And so it's sort of like when you have a superhero movie: my immune system is the superhero and whatever it decides is the super villain is the super villain and I'm the city being destroyed in the meantime."
Her explanation of the condition is lighthearted, but the effects of it are not.
"Anything can be a threat," Fernandez said, "it can just be a fabric you're wearing, it can be a scent in the air, it can be a food you're eating that used to be safe and now your body suddenly decides it's a threat. And then you can go into anaphylaxis and the next thing you know you're doing an EpiPen and you're in the hospital."
Since being diagnosed with the syndrome, Fernandez has been using sodium cromoglycate. The drug comes in nebules, which are inhaled into the lungs. In Canada, the drug is manufactured by Montreal-based Pharmascience Inc.
Earlier this year, the medication was removed from the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary, meaning the cost is no longer covered by the province. Shortly after, those who use it found the price had gone up more than 400 per cent.
"No one's going to believe that the operating costs to make this drug suddenly soared 400 per cent," argued Dr. Matthew Stanbrook, a respirologist with the University Health Network.
"This is just an attempt to make money. It is not necessary, it is just the company trying to generate more revenue and, from a healthcare point of view, we should not have sympathy for that," Stanbrook said.
Stanbrook says the drug, which has been around since the late 1960s, was commonly used to treat conditions from asthma to allergies. But advances in medicine have led to other drugs taking its place for most patients. Still, he says, there is a small number of patients who require it.
"It holds the patients who require this hostage in a way, because they're dependant on the drug. The costs are ramped up beyond the point any individual could afford and it puts insurance companies and the third-party payers like governments in a really difficult situation."
Use of the drug has dropped more than 95 per cent in the last 15 years, according to its manufacturer. In a press release on Wednesday, Pharmascience Inc. says "the case of sodium cromoglycate illustrates well the extreme difficulty for generic pharmaceutical companies to maintain the commercialization of old generic drug products with very low utilization rates.”
The company said it is reducing the cost of the nebulizer solution to what it calls the "lowest price available in Canada".
However, even that won't help Fernandez who says the price increase makes it impossible to afford the drug. “I won't be able to take my medication anymore," she said.
The company said the cost reduction will remain in place until current inventory is depleted, providing time for physicians to find alternative therapeutics for their patients. But that may not be possible for everyone. Dr. Stanbrook calls it a "bad trade-off" that may lead to further complications for patients.
"For these few patients who depend on this, it might be trading this medication that has relatively few side-effects and is very well tolerated, for a medication that could have a lot of side-effects."
And for Fernandez, it might not be an option. She says, “There is no alternative. I talked to my pharmacy, there is no alternative. My allergist was saying we don't know what we're going to do after this because there's nothing left."
Fernandez hopes the drug will be re-added to the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary, so she can continue to take it.
"I need it to be covered so that I can breathe and eat without going in to debt or being in a hospital all of the time."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
The UN warns Sudan's warring parties that Darfur risks starvation and death if aid isn't allowed in
The United Nations food agency warned Sudan's warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don't allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Golf season a summer tourism driver in Canada
Golf is a sign of spring and summer and a major driver for seasonal tourism, experts say.