Enzon
Executive Summary
Begins marketing Adagen, an orphan drug used in the treatment of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease (SCID), which is fatal if untreated. Adagen costs $2,200 per vial in the U.S. and $3,000 outside the country. The company says "the price is based on the cost of the raw materials used to manufacture the drug, monitoring patients and meeting quality control regulatory standards." National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) Executive Director Abbey Meyers defended Enzon's pricing of the drug: "Unlike the blockbuster drugs masquerading as 'orphans' to keep out competition and making hundreds of millions of dollars, Adagen is a true orphan drug." Adagen received orphan status in May 1984; Enzon filed the NDA in January 1988. The drug has been available at no charge since its approval in March. According to Enzon, about 40 cases of ADA-deficient SCID are diagnosed annually worldwide ("The Pink Sheet" March 26, T&G-1).