At the risk of sounding cold hearted, the government simply must say no to the pharmaceutical companies.  It is not sensible to pay a million dollars per year per patient for a drug, no matter what the R&D costs are.

Drug development is a risky business at any time. Sometimes the risk doesn't pay off and you lose money. If you are deciding what drug you will develop, knowing how big the market will be if you are successful will be part of the planning process.

Pharma's have to understand that we will not be guilted into paying ransoms.

This is the same logic as why we don't pay ransoms to terrorist groups. Doing so encourages the activity.

Should we feel bad for the people afflicted? Of course. That does not mean that we should pay whatever is asked for these drugs.

My guess is that at $1,000 per year per patient they can still produce it at a profit.  That they may never get their R&D investment back is irrelevant. That money is gone. Any revenue is better than none.