Drug Puts A $750,000 Price Tag On Life
Kaiser Health News | August 02, 2017
Jana Gundy and Amanda Chaffin live within two hours of each other in Oklahoma. Each has a child with the same devastating disease, one that robs them of muscle strength, affecting their ability to sit, stand or even breathe. So both families were ecstatic when the Food and Drug Administration approved the first treatment for the genetic condition - known as spinal muscular atrophy SMA - two days before Christmas 2016. It seemed the gift they had been waiting for - a chance to slow the heartbreaking decline of their young sons.