Battleangel

Neoliberalism at its finest. A greedy pharmaceutical company is trying to prevent doctors from using one of their drugs, Avastin, for an alternative application, citing “safety concerns” and “development costs” of their “new” drug, which most likely is nothing more than a repackaged version of the old one. The deviousness of the plot is that the “new” drug will be 100 times more expensive and as such only available to a select few in the industrialized west.

Genentech, the company that invented Avastin, does not want it used in this way. Instead it is applying to license a fragment of Avastin, called Lucentis, which is packaged in the tiny quantities suitable for eyes at a higher cost. Speculation in the US suggests it could cost £1,000 per dose instead of less than £10. The company says Lucentis is specifically designed for eyes, with modifications over Avastin, and has been through 10 years of testing to prove it is safe.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, the legislative system in most countries would aid and abet Genentech in this.