omgriffiths

I'm from Australia, so I think our system is similar (single payer type system). Our government won't be offering this drug in the short term. If it is really this good, they will negotiate a deal over time.

The advantage of that system is the government can give the company the choice: a) Sell to us for $x, and patients can use for no/low cost b) Go direct, and try to convince patients to pay $y themselves

This gives a pretty strong incentive for x << y, and avoids a lot of advertising expense.

This does seem ironic - the fact that taxpayers are on the hook for the cost is exactly why they can charge so much.

If they could only sell to people who pay with their own money, would it be in their interests to charge this much?

Actually sounds like an argument for getting government out of healthcare, as only the patient can truly care about the end to end efficiency.