Calls for action on Xtandi's US price

Members of the US House of Representatives have written a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra urging him to follow through with the Biden administration’s commitment to lowering exorbitant prescription drug costs.

Representatives Peter DeFazio and Lloyd Doggett have led members in urging the HHS in particular to lower the cost of the prostate cancer drug Xtandi (enzalutamide).

They have stressed that the drug, which is marketed by Japanese company Astellas (TYO: 4503), was initially developed using American taxpayer dollars but is sold to patients in the USA at nearly $190,000 per year of treatment. This is compared to a price of as little as $30,000 that is paid in other countries.