, Columnist
Alexion Tests Orphan Drug Limits
Regulators and payers are starting to balk at high prices.
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If a strategy works in the pharmaceutical industry, then you can bet someone will take it to its furthest extreme.
Alexion has been a pioneer in two hot industry trends: marketing rare-disease, or "orphan," drugs and jacking up prices. It sells its drug Soliris, which treats rare blood disorders, for as much as $525,000 a year. Its newest drug Kanuma, which treats a rare genetic enzyme deficiency, could cost even more per patient per year, according to the U.K.'s health-care cost watchdog, known as NICE.