|
 Shareholders at the event in Basel also approved Novartis's planned
spin-off of its Alcon eyecare unit, due for coming months, with
investors with five Novartis shares due to receive one share of
Alcon stock.
Swiss shareholder group Actares said insurance systems are being
"taken hostage" by high prices for life-saving drugs. It called out
Novartis's $475,000 cancer cell therapy Kymriah and its
still-unapproved gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy that
Novartis contends is cost-effective at $4-$5 million per patient,
while independent groups have concluded its value is less than that.
Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan, who did not testify this week before
the U.S. Senate with other global drug industry executives also
facing criticism for drug prices, said he seeks to price medicines
based on their value, adding Novartis needs a fair return to further
research and development.
[to top of second column] |
"With respect to pricing in cell and gene therapies, I think what's
often lost in the discussion is the remarkable impact of these
medicines," Narasimhan said. "These are true breakthroughs that come
from a single infusion of a medicine that don't require lifelong
therapy."
Actares President Veronika Hendry said high drug prices present
society with difficult questions over access.
"With this business model you are taking hostage an insurance system
that depends on solidarity," Hendry said. "There's currently a broad
discussion going on over exorbitant drug prices, and this discussion
is creating resentment and disbelief."
(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields and Brenna
Hughes Neghaiwi)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
