Avastin trial halted because of unexplained deaths

$100,000.

That’s the price tag for a year’s supply of Avastin, a very effective drug that treats colon, breast and lung cancer. The New York Times predicts that out-of-pocket co-payments for Avastin may run as high as $10,000 to $20,000, depending on a patient’s insurance plan.

Imagine all the cancer research of the past few decades have led us to a time when a drug that promises to add a few months to the life of a patient with advanced cancer costs more than most people can afford.

Too bad that, say, a tenth of that research hasn’t been devoted to exploring natural therapies such as IVC rather than producing drugs that reap billions of dollars in profits.

The Times article quoted “analysts” who believe that by 2009 Avastin may bring in profits as high as $7 billion each year.

But don’t take that to the bank just yet. On the same week the Times piece appeared, an Associated Press article reported that recruitment for a large Avastin trial has been temporarily halted because of unexpected deaths. Since 2004, seven patients have died while taking a combination of Avastin and a chemo drug called XELOX. Four of the seven died suddenly.

In another arm of the study, four deaths have occurred in subjects who were taking Avastin with a chemo drug known as FOLFOX.

Hundreds of the 2,000 patients already enrolled in the study will continue to take Avastin with chemotherapy while researchers conduct a “full safety assessment.”

Sources:
“A Cancer Drug Shows Promise, at a Price That Many Can’t Pay” Alex Berenson, New York Times, 2/15/06, nytimes.com
“Drug Companies Stop Recruiting for Test” Paul Elias, Associated Press, 2/13/06, ap.org