Ogovyx cost --YUK

I ran Orgovyx (120mg/day) through my 2023 Part D comparison and the annual cost was around $4300 for all costs including $120 of other meds and premiums. My cost for January would be over $1000 due to $500 deductible and gradually settle down so the total for the year was in the $4K range. All policies I checked were around the same pricing and cash pricing was terrible so no deals. Please use the Medicare comparison tool to help with the annual evaluation given the screwy Medicare drug rules.

Also go to the Orgovyx site https://www.orgovyxpricing.com/ and see if you can get manufacturer help and bypass Part D. It takes some time so start that now. The site claims that 3 of 4 men get it for $85/mo. Good luck.

alephnull said...

Orgovyx and Xtandi are about 18,000/month.

I remember telling some family members that I take a drug that costs around $300 dollars a day. The shocked look on their faces was priceless. Then they asked how a drug company can charge so much. I shrugged my shoulders and said it's cancer. They can charge damm well what they please. 🙂

Apparently...........
I just know there isn't a retirement plan out there for retirees that pays that well.
So, I'll keel over at work someday.

Mel,
Not wanting to hijack your Orgovyx post, but there is a lot of YUK with Xtandi too. Please forgive me, but your post got me to Googling.

I found there has been a fair amount of activity going on for the government to use it's "March in Rights" to lower the cost of Xtandi. I guess the government can "march in" because public funds were used in the early development of Xtandi (Enzalutamide).

Astellas has a different view. From one article I read:

** A statement by Astellas claimed that, “while the U.S. government contributed approximately $500,000 to the initial discovery of the molecule that eventually became XTANDI, Astellas has invested more than $1.4 billion to date in research and development efforts for XTANDI.”

A response by KEI said “that is a lot to unpack,” noting that “Charles Sawyers, the lead inventor on the Xtandi patents, is listed as the principal investigator for $27.7 million in NIH-funded projects and $8.3 million in subprojects, beginning in 1985. Michael Jung, another of the Xtandi inventors, was the principal investigator for 42 NIH grants involving $5.99 million….

“Once Xtandi was approved by the FDA on August 31, 2012, it became a commercial and profitable product that has generated more than $20 billion in global sales,” **

If you are interested in such things, Google something like "Xtandi March in Rights." A whole lot of reading will come up. 🙂

Mumbo said...
Sailor - Lupron injections should be covered under Part B so no cost if you have a decent Medicare plan. Did you have something different?

My comment wasn't about me; I just wanted to remind our audience that Lupron does carry a substantial cost as well and someone (the 'system') also has to pay for the administration of the shot.

With respect to me, I don't have Medicare B; my Blue Cross/BS plan covered a substantial part of the cost at the time (ten years ago), but I had to pony up more than a few Frappuccinos myself.