Development costs have to be passed on in drug prices, which may be exceptionally high when a drug benefits only a relatively small number of patients. Gaucher’s disease, for example, is a rare crippling genetic condition that, in its more severe forms, usually killed its victims in childhood.
即使这种错误的激励措施都被避免，为了控制成本, 还有更棘手的问题需要面对。其中之一就是新药物的花费。 花8亿美元开发一种药物是很平常的，我们可以期待看到耗资更大的一种新型药物——生物制药, 用活体细胞制药。