Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS also known as Lou Gehrigs disease) is a horrible neurological disease. The ability to move, speak, and even breath is gradually destroyed as nerves are attacked. Up until now there was only one drug used to slow this disease down.

A new medication was recently approved by the FDA. This drug, Radicava, is not by any standard a cure. At best, based on a recent Japanese study, it can slow the disease’s down by about 30%. This will lengthen survival time.

Radicava should be available by late summer. The price tag: a modest $145,000 per year. You might appropriately ask, how in God’s name can a drug cost that much? Well, there is a lot of research involved and very few patients who have the disease. In other words,big investment few buyers. Still, you might argue that big Pharma primary concern is corporate profits, even at the expense of human suffering.

For those who have ALS, this drug will be welcomed. Hopefully, there will be more research so that one day a cure can be found.