In a sense, we hope you haven't heard of the drugs on this list before now. They make the top 10 most expensive list because they are all combatting rare disorders. Patients utilizing these drugs often have no choice but to rely on these six-figure medications because there are few, if any other, options for treatment.
1. SOLIRIS
$409,500 per patient, per year (You could buy a condo outright in Huntington Beach, California for this price.)
This expensive drug is produced by Alexion Pharmaceuticals and manufactured to treat paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a rare blood disease that afflicts about 8,000 Americans.
2. ELAPRASE
$375,000 per year (You could buy a Montblanc Platinum Grand Tourbillon Heures Mysterieuses watch for this price.)
Shire Pharmaceuticals manufactures Elaprase to treat Hunter syndrome, a rare metabolic disease that can result in premature death. Roughly 500 Americans, primarily males, are treated annually for the illness.
3. NAGLAZYME
$365,000 per year (You could buy a yacht outright for this price.)
Manufactured by BioMartin Pharmaceuticals, Naglazyme provides patients of Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome with an important enzyme that their bodies cannot produce.
4. FOLOTYNE
$360,00 per year (You could buy a Ulysse Nardin Triplejack Minute Repeater watch for this price.)
Allos Therapeutics is the manufacturer of Folotyne and the drug is used to treat T-cell lymphoma typically when cancer has not improved with treatment, or comes back.
5. CINRYZE
$350,000 per year (You could buy a Sony Ericsson Black Diamond exclusive luxury cellphone for $50,000 less.)
Lev Pharmaceuticals manufactures Cinryze to help prevent potentially fatal swelling attacks in the roughly 6,000 Americans with hereditary angioedema.
6. ACTH
(adrenocorticotropic hormone) - $300,000 for two treatments (You could buy a brand new 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series for only $275,925)
This drug is manufactured by Questcor Pharmaceuticals and is used to treat infantile spasms, seizures that often affect infants 4 to 6 months of age.
7. MYOZYME
$100,000 per year for kids, $300,000 per year for adults (You could buy a 2014 Porsche Panamera Turbo S Executive in between these two prices.)
Developed by Genzyme, Myozyme is used to treat a rare and often fatal disease, Pompe, a genetic neuromuscular disorder in children and adults alike. An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 people worldwide suffer from Pompe disease.
8. ARCALYST
$250,000 per year (For just $25,000 more, you could buy an Ecosse Titanium Series RR Limited Edition Motorcycle.)
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has manufactured Arcalyst to combat rare genetic conditions like Familial Cold Auto-inflammatory Syndrome and Muckle-Wells Syndrome.
9. CEREDASE/CEREZYME
$200,000 per year (You could buy a 2014 Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe for this price.)
Genzyme has created Ceredase to help patients with Gaucher disease. A new version, Cerezyme, came out in 1994, made with genetically engineered hamster cells, and was expected to be cheaper, but unfortunately for Gaucher disease sufferers, the price has actually gone up to $200,000 per year for the average patient.
10. FABRAZYME
$200,000 per year (For this price, you could stay for two months in a one-bedroom panoramic suite at the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai - touted to be the world's most luxurious hotel.
Genzyme is the manufacturer of Fabrazyme, which replaces a necessary enzyme in the human body for patients of Fabry disease who suffer from the lack of or faulty enzyme that is needed to metabolize lipids.
We all wish life-saving medicines were cheaper, but because these drugs are treating a handful of people with rare disorders, the cost for development and manufacturing comes down to being paid for by the few who need them. The good news is these options are available; the bad news is the hefty price tag. However, if the choice was an expensive treatment, or none at all - I believe we'd all choose life. Don't you?
CanadianPharmacyKing.com is a fully licensed Canadian and international dispensing pharmacy providing most prescribed medications. We DO NOT SELL the most expensive medications or the above mentioned medications such as Soliris, Elaprase, Naglazyme, etc. All orders for other products require a valid prescription.
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Carissa Andrews is an passionate author and freelancer from Minnesotan with a focus in creative writing.