Excuse me, we would like a cure

Actually a lot of cures. Please.

Biotech and big pharma have come up with all sorts of pills in the last decades. Some of which ease symptoms, think pain meds for arthritis or other ailments. Others represent cures, think penicillin for infections. While the ones which ease symptoms are helpful, personally I would prefer cures.

Last year Gilead Pharmaceuticals released Solvadi, which cures Hepatitis C for 90% of its patients. Previously the only cure for Hepatitis C was a liver transplant. A not so good alternative with a long wait period. This is the $1000 a pill which costs $84,000 per cure for a seven week course of treatment.

In addition to its eye popping cost, it has raised the bar for biotech and big pharma.They need to stop looking at incremental medications which offer a few weeks or months of extended life or symptom easing pills and focus on the medications which provide true cures.

Biotech is teetering on the edge of a precipice where the big dollar mergers and investors could become a thing of the past. Incremental advances for huge prices may also become history.

As the patients, we should be able to add our two cents to the discussions as well.