The FDA approved two gene therapies for sickle cell disease. Patients can now be cured for the low price of several million dollars per treatment. Insurance companies looked at the bill and laughed so hard they had to be sedated.
Hospitals need specialized facilities. They need trained staff. They need equipment that costs more than a small nation's GDP. Most importantly, they need patients who can somehow conjure the kind of money that makes lottery winners look like they're shopping at dollar stores. Turns out—and I'm just spitballing here—not many sickle cell patients have that kind of cash lying around.
The therapies work by editing genes or replacing them entirely. Science fiction became science fact. The catch is science fact costs what science fiction authors would consider an implausibly large sum. Even in dystopian novels, the evil corporations charge less.
Doctors keep talking about access challenges. That's the medical industry's way of saying poor people can f*ck off. The therapy exists. It sits in a lab somewhere, fully functional, ready to cure a disease that causes unbearable pain and early death. But first, let's run a credit check.
Some hospital administrator in Ohio is currently explaining to a patient that yes, we can save your life, but have you considered just dealing with the excruciating pain instead? Much more affordable. Really builds character.
The breakthrough happened. The science worked. Researchers spent decades perfecting treatments that actually cure the disease. And now those treatments will help roughly seven people who can afford them, while everyone else gets to read inspiring news articles about medical advances they'll never f*cking see.
Photo by Sangharsh Lohakare on Unsplash
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