In August, the Food and Drug Administration approved Zaltrap for colorectal cancer treatment. Sanofi, a large French pharmaceutical company, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a small N.Y. biotechnology company, developed the drug, which they initially priced at $11,000 a month — more than double the cost of competing drug Avastin, according to the report.
Physicians from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City spoke out against the exorbitant price of the drug and did not approve the drug for use in the hospital. Three Sloan-Kettering physicians wrote an editorial in The New York Times explaining their decision, noting that the price of drugs and their value often do not correlate.
In response, Sanofi announced it would reduce the price of Zaltrap by half. The official price of Zaltrap will remain the same, but Sanofi will offer 50 percent discounts to physicians and hospitals that purchase the drug and administer it to patients, according to the report.
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