Disparities

After Trials With Yale Researchers, FDA-Approved Treatment To Delay Type 1 Diabetes Brings Hope

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The Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of the first treatment that would delay the onset of type 1 diabetes ignited joy and hope among families impacted by the chronic, incurable disease. A clinical study found immunotherapy treatment with the drug teplizumab postponed the onset of type 1 diabetes (T1D) among at-risk children and adults for an average of two years, and for one patient, 11 years and counting. “Half the people in the study are way beyond two years,” says Yale University’s Dr. Kevan Herold, who has been working on a cure for T1D for 30 years. People with T1D have to manage the disease 24/7 or risk dangerously low or high blood sugar levels and long-term complications, said Herold, the clinical trial’s principal investigator. Before participating in a clinical trial at age 9, Claire Wirt, now 16, had antibodies that put her at risk of developing T1D within two years.

Rising Rx Prices Forcing Critical Choices; States May Be Last Hope For Consumers

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Thousands of consumers statewide are experiencing sticker shock at the pharmacy this year after increases in deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses for employer-sponsored insurance, forcing some to choose between their health and their finances. Since 2003, drug costs in Connecticut have increased faster than prices across the nation, reports the nonprofit Connecticut Health Policy Project. The advocacy group also found that Connecticut residents spend more per person on prescriptions than residents in all states except Delaware and that rate is rising much faster than in other states. According to the State Comptroller’s Office, the total net costs of prescription drugs in the state employee health plan rose 29 percent, from $257.6 million in 2014 to $332.3 million in 2017, with diabetes drugs the most expensive therapeutic class. Some of the companies to hike prices on dozens of medications by more than 9 percent this year include Allergan Plc, Insys Therapeutics Inc., Horizon Pharma Ltd., and Teva Ltd, according to Jefferies LLC, a New York-based investment advisory firm.

Disparities

Low-Income Diabetics Paying High Price For Insulin

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The high cost of insulin, which has risen by triple-digit percentages in the last five years, is endangering the lives of many diabetics who can’t afford the price tag, say Connecticut physicians who treat diabetics. The doctors say that the out-of-pocket costs for insulin, ranging from $25 to upwards of $600 a month, depending on insurance coverage, are forcing many of their low-income patients to choose between treatment and paying their bills. “Some of my patients have to make the choice between rent or insulin,” said Dr. Bismruta Misra, an endocrinologist with the Stamford Health Medical Group. “So they spread out taking insulin [injecting it less frequently than a doctor has prescribed] or don’t take it.”

Experts and recent studies point to drug companies’ long-standing patents and the lack of generic or “biosimilar” insulin as key reasons why the drug is so expensive. A study by Philip Clarke, a professor of health economics at the University of Melbourne in Australia, reported that the price of insulin has tripled from 2002-2013.