High-priced drugs raising questions

NEW YORK, March 16 (UPI) -- Some researchers are questioning the ethics of prescribing higher-than-necessary doses of high-priced drugs in the United States.

The New York Times reported that one drug can cost more than $300,000 a year for just one patient. The drug, Cerezyme, is used to treat a rare inherited enzyme deficiency called Gaucher disease.

Some researchers say that for many patients as little as one-fourth of the standard dose is effective, and could save more than $200,000 a year per Gaucher patient. About 1,500 people in the United States take the drug, the newspaper said.

"It is economic malpractice to give a much higher dose of an expensive drug than is required," Dr. Ernest Beutler, an authority on Gaucher disease at the Scripps Research Institute, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Doctors are also raising questions about Genentech's drug Avastin. A recent study suggested the half-dose might be as effective as the full one, which can cost $100,000.

Dr. David P. Schenkein, a Genentech executive, said the doses were chosen solely for maximum effectiveness, the newspaper reported.