Patients Still Struggle To Balance High Costs Of MS Treatment, Despite Generic
Drugs to treat multiple sclerosis can run $70,000 a year or more. Patients hoped competition from a generic version of one of the most popular brands would spur relief, but prices went up. Here's why.
Sometimes, the approval of a new generic drug offers more hype than hope for patients' wallets, as people with multiple sclerosis know all too well. New research shows just how little the introduction of a generic version of Copaxone — one of the most popular MS drugs — did to lower their medicine costs.
MS is an autoimmune disease that gradually damages the central nervous system, disrupting communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Its symptoms are different from patient to patient across a lifetime but can include weakness, numbness, vision problems, tremors and even paralysis.
