New drugs for C. difficile cost almost five times more

February 1, 2012 - I was asked to be interviewed by a representative of Edelman, a firm that is handling public relations for DIFICID, a new drug that treats C. difficile infections. They sent me a questionnaire to find out more about who we are, what our perspective is on this drug, and whether we would like to partner with a drug company on advocacy issues. I agreed to the interview to see what it would be like. In the mean time, I did a bit of research on the drug.

It is indeed a new drug that was approved in May 2011. The cost for a 10-day course of treatment is $2800. I have not yet been able to ascertain what its benefits are over other C. diff drugs. Nonetheless, all are expensive. It is particularly interesting that hospitals do not pay for these drugs because they are not administered there. They are the responsibility of individuals even though C. difficile is a hospital-caused infection. It may be that we will not get universal pharmaceutical coverage, but I would imagine that the hospitals that breed and cause the infection might see their way clear to paying for the treatment.