NPR

At $2.1 Million, New Gene Therapy Is The Most Expensive Drug Ever

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new gene therapy for a rare but devastating genetic disorder. The drugmaker says the cost is worth it because it's a one-time treatment that saves lives.
Zolgensma, a new drug approved by the FDA Friday, costs more than $2 million.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has approved a gene therapy for a rare childhood disorder that is now the most expensive drug on the market. It costs $2.125 million per patient.

But for those patients lucky enough to get it, it appears it can save their lives with a one-time treatment.

Three-year-old Donovan Weisgarber is one of those patients. When he was born he seemed perfectly healthy. But within weeks, it became clear something was terribly wrong.

"It was about when he was about one month old that when

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