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VIDEO: Despite ‘Revolutionary’ Potential for Health Care, Biologics Remain Costly, Limited Availability
SAN DIEGO — At the United Rheumatology National Meeting, Alan L. Epstein, MD, clinical professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine discusses the continued high costs associated with biologics, and policy issues that have limited patient access to affordable, high-quality treatments.
“We are all we aware that biologics have revolutionized the care of patients with rheumatic diseases,” Epstein told Healio Rheumatology. “They have also tremendously impacted patients with illnesses such as psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. However, there has been a cost to be paid.”
He noted, “These drugs are expensive and they significantly increase health care costs and their high costs have made them of limited availability to a significant number of patients who need them.”