Breast Cancer Survivor Fights Drug Maker To Help Others
Sometimes, access to a drug comes down to life and death. But
what if that potentially lifesaving drug is priced so out of reach that
you have no hope of getting it? That question prompted Care2 member
Margaret Connolly to author an online petition earlier this year.
Breast Cancer Survivor Fights Drug Maker To Help Others
Margaret, a breast cancer survivor, was concerned about the exorbitant price tag on Kadcyla, a drug shown to extend the lives of women with advanced breast cancer. The expensive drug wasn’t considered cost effective, so it was scheduled to be removed from the list of drugs covered by England’s National Health Service (NHS).
The drug was developed too late to help Margaret’s niece, who died after being diagnosed with an aggressive, advanced-stage cancer. Margaret didn’t want to stand by and watch other young women die for lack of this medication.
“Instead of helping these people in need,” Margaret wrote in a letter to Care2 members, “Roche is putting profit first and asking £90,000 per year for the treatment. This price makes it far out of reach of the NHS to provide to people who are ill…Please join me to call on Roche to reduce the price of Kadcyla to a level that will make it available to people in need. Every corporation hates bad publicity — if 10,000 more of us sign the petition, Roche will have to take notice!”
Drug Maker Relents in the Face of Public Outrage
More than 30,000 people signed the Care2 petition, and tens of thousands signed similar petitions around the web — and Roche took notice.
The Guardian recently reported that the pharmaceutical giant agreed to lower the price to about £50,000 a year, which will allow it to remain on the list of medications available on the NHS. Thanks to Margaret and other activists, and all those who signed the petitions, women in the U.K. will continue to have access to the drug that can help them live longer.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Kadcyla for treatment of HER2-positive, late-stage (metastatic) breast cancer in 2013, when the New York Times reported its price at about $94,000 for a course of treatment. We don’t have a national health service in the United States, of course, so the price varies according to where you live and what health insurance plan you have, if you have one at all.
It’s not the first time public outrage has pushed a drug company into lowering its prices. Earlier this year, Turing Pharmaceuticals suffered a public relations nightmare when it decided to boost its profits by increasing the price of a drug used to treat parasitic infection by more than 4,000 percent. Unrelenting pressure and even a fair amount of ridicule forced the company to backtrack.
The Power of Online Activism
Thank you Margaret, and to all those who joined her, for doing your part to right a wrong.
Stories of Care2 members in the news show the power of online activism. Whether it’s a problem with healthcare or something else that strikes you as just plain wrong, you can make your voice heard. By starting a petition, you can encourage others to join in your cause and, like those who fought for access to Kadcyla, you may be able to make a positive difference in the world.
Breast Cancer Survivor Fights Drug Maker To Help Others
Margaret, a breast cancer survivor, was concerned about the exorbitant price tag on Kadcyla, a drug shown to extend the lives of women with advanced breast cancer. The expensive drug wasn’t considered cost effective, so it was scheduled to be removed from the list of drugs covered by England’s National Health Service (NHS).
The drug was developed too late to help Margaret’s niece, who died after being diagnosed with an aggressive, advanced-stage cancer. Margaret didn’t want to stand by and watch other young women die for lack of this medication.
“Instead of helping these people in need,” Margaret wrote in a letter to Care2 members, “Roche is putting profit first and asking £90,000 per year for the treatment. This price makes it far out of reach of the NHS to provide to people who are ill…Please join me to call on Roche to reduce the price of Kadcyla to a level that will make it available to people in need. Every corporation hates bad publicity — if 10,000 more of us sign the petition, Roche will have to take notice!”
Drug Maker Relents in the Face of Public Outrage
More than 30,000 people signed the Care2 petition, and tens of thousands signed similar petitions around the web — and Roche took notice.
The Guardian recently reported that the pharmaceutical giant agreed to lower the price to about £50,000 a year, which will allow it to remain on the list of medications available on the NHS. Thanks to Margaret and other activists, and all those who signed the petitions, women in the U.K. will continue to have access to the drug that can help them live longer.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Kadcyla for treatment of HER2-positive, late-stage (metastatic) breast cancer in 2013, when the New York Times reported its price at about $94,000 for a course of treatment. We don’t have a national health service in the United States, of course, so the price varies according to where you live and what health insurance plan you have, if you have one at all.
It’s not the first time public outrage has pushed a drug company into lowering its prices. Earlier this year, Turing Pharmaceuticals suffered a public relations nightmare when it decided to boost its profits by increasing the price of a drug used to treat parasitic infection by more than 4,000 percent. Unrelenting pressure and even a fair amount of ridicule forced the company to backtrack.
The Power of Online Activism
Thank you Margaret, and to all those who joined her, for doing your part to right a wrong.
Stories of Care2 members in the news show the power of online activism. Whether it’s a problem with healthcare or something else that strikes you as just plain wrong, you can make your voice heard. By starting a petition, you can encourage others to join in your cause and, like those who fought for access to Kadcyla, you may be able to make a positive difference in the world.
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