The FDA just approved a new drug to treat eczema that costs $37,000 a year
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic type of skin inflammation also known as eczema, which in severe cases causes intense constant itching.
The drug will have a list price of $37,000 a year before any discounts or rebates are applied. The price tag is less than some treatmments for the skin condition psoriasis. Those drugs can cost around $50,000 a year, according to Forbes.
Regeneron's CEO Len Schleifer has been vocal in the past about pricing in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly when it comes to using routine price hikes to existing drugs to cover up innovation.
Some members of the pharmaceutical supply chain are content with the $37,000 price tag.
Steve Miller, the chief medical officer of Express Scripts told Forbes that the price was a "great example" of how pricing should work. "Our plans would obviously like a lower price. [Regeneron's] shareholders would like a higher price. I think the fact we disappointed everyone probably means this came in where it should have," he told Forbes.
Wall Street analysts forecast annual sales exceeding $4 billion by 2022 for the injectable biotech drug known chemically as dupilumab, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Reuters reporting By Deena Beasley and Bill Berkrot