I have been very disheartened by recent news regarding the prevention of premature birth. If I were to ever get pregnant again, there are a few things that would need to be put into place. One is the placement of a cerclage. The other is the possible use of a terbutaline pump, which the FDA has recently declared unsafe for pregnant women. The other is the use of a weekly progesterone shot, P17. This week, KV Pharmaceuticals won FDA approval to be the exclusive manufacturer of this drug, now called Makena. What once was a compounded, widely available drug that cost $10-$20 per injection will now soar to a cost of $1500 per injection! That’s a total cost of $30,000 per pregnancy. I just wonder how many babies will be born premature because of this company’s greed. This is terrifying to me and completely unacceptable. I know many micro-preemie moms who have gone on to have full term babies with the help of this drug. The March of Dimes, who I have whole-heartedly supported, were in favor of this FDA approval, although they say they had no knowledge of the price increase that would transpire. I think, however, that if the March of Dimes truly cares about saving babies. . .they need to take action and try to make this right. You cannot be in support of KV Pharmaceuticals and preventing premature birth. Many fellow micro-preemie moms are boycotting the walk for this reason. To be honest. I haven’t decided whether we are or not. I still believe in the goodness of the organization and what they have done for babies. But, it literally makes me sick because I have this belief that if I do ever become pregnant again, I would never have to go through what I went through again. Nobody else should either. We are talking about women who have been through premature birth once before and deserve a chance at a full term pregnancy. Babies deserve to have a fighting chance! Maybe this doesn’t affect you personally, but it will definitely affect your health care rates. I will, however, be writing to the March of Dimes, KV Pharmaceuticals and to my congressmen. I hope some of you will as well. The following blog post by Eliza Grace’s mom gives you the contact information that you will need.
Blog Post about KV Pharma/MOD
http://eliza-grace-micro-preemie.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-of-dimes-and-kv-pharmacueticals.html?spref=fb
http://delangefamilytx.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-of-dimes.html
http://ok-corral.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-of-dimes-and-kv-pharmaceuticals.html
If anyone has anything they would like to add, please feel free to leave a comment. Many of you are more familiar with this drug and can provide additional information.
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6 comments:
from the reading I have done most insurance companies will continue to cover p17 injections. Medicaid patients are the people that will take the biggest hit. there is also a vaginally suppository version of this drug that will still remain inexpensive and research is showing it works just as well. As far as the terb pump goes, terb is an asthma drug that just has the side effect of reducing uterine contractions because it relaxes smooth muscle. terb has not been shown to reduce preterm birth, only preterm contractions..the differece between preterm contractions and preterm labor is that preterm contractions don't change the cervix which is what defines labor. Long term terb use is being linked to learning disabilites, no matter if it is by mouth or by injection or pump. Just to qualifiy my opinions I am a labor and delivery nurse who is active with march of dimes. I have found your blog through a friend of mine, who has a former micro preemie as well and I have loved listening to your story and watching Olivia grow. My heart goes out to you with all the struggles you have gone through.
I do not know why they chose to charge such a high amount. They must believe that people/insurance will pay. But if it wasn't for the greed, there never would have been the drug in the first place.
After reading a bit more about it -- yeah, that's messed up. I wonder which government officials got paid off to grant them a monopoly on the manufacture.
KV created an assistance program for low income/uninsured women, as well as those with household income less than $100k a year. The low income/uninsured will most likely not be impacted so much. I hate that people are implying that those are the ones who are most affected by premature birth, because it is absolutely NOT true. It is also ridiculous to assume that any family who makes a penny more than $100k a year will be able to drop $30k on a single drug for pregnancy if their insurance plan denies it. The assistance plan is a step in the right direction, but it screams greed. Even though many should benefit from the help, it still excludes a lot of women, and it is the rest of us who will end up footing the bill. As far as the terb pump, yes it is an asthma drug and no it wasn't FDA approved for treating preterm labor. But I personally used it and know many others who benefitted from it as well. As to the potential health concerns I can only say I didn't experience any issues with it, but that's just me.
And just FYI, I am nearly 20 weeks pregnant, after a 23 week delivery and a subsequent high-risk pregnancy. I am/was due to start 17P next week, so we'll see what the insurance company says. They covered it with my second pregnancy no problem, but my OB is just now requesting it this time around.
I posted on your "I wonder" post a few months back. I'm currently on the p17 injections. I can't imagine that they would do something that would hinder babies being more full term. It is just absurd. I'm 21 weeks now with a healthy baby boy & with the p17 shots, I plan on delivering a healthy, FULL term baby. Makes you wonder about the people in charge sometime....
Thank you so much for posting this. I had no idea this was going on. I forwarded some info onto the Family advisory council at WMC. Hopefully, we can help spread the word. I forwarded the email to you to.
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