A big drugmaker is backing away from a plan to triple the price of a lifesaving cancer drug after facing a public backlash

Thomson Reuters

• Drugmaker Pharmacyclics had tripled the cost of a lifesaving cancer blood treatment when it introduced a new version of the pill.
• The new price tag faced criticism from cancer doctors who were concerned about how this would impact how they dosed patients with the drug. 
• Last week, Pharmacyclics reversed its decision to take the initial version of the drug off the market, giving patients and doctors a lower-cost option. 

The maker of a lifesaving blood cancer treatment planned to triple the cost of the drug — but it’s backing down after pressure from doctors. 

The drug, Imbruvica, treats serious forms of blood cancer such as leukemia and lymphoma. Developed by Pharmacyclics in conjunction with Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen arm, it has increased survival rates especially in high-risk patients and most patients treated with the drug show favorable outcomes.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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