Table of Contents
How is ivacaftor administered?
One dose is equal to one tablet or one packet of oral granules. There are limited and incomplete human data from clinical trials and post marketing reports on use of KALYDECO in pregnant women.
How does ivacaftor treat cystic fibrosis?
Ivacaftor helps people with cystic fibrosis who have more than 97 different gating and conductive mutations, and a few residual function and splice mutations. Kalydeco helps more chloride reach the cell surface, which makes the mucus thinner and less sticky. This reduces the symptoms of CF.
How does Kalydeco treat cystic fibrosis?
Researchers designed Kalydeco to treat cystic fibrosis patients with this gating mutation. It works by keeping the CFTR gate open for longer at the cell surface. This eases the transport of salts and water in and out of cells to improve hydration and clear mucus.
How much does Kalydeco cost?
The cost for Kalydeco oral tablet 150 mg is around $26,405 for a supply of 56 tablets, depending on the pharmacy you visit. Prices are for cash paying customers only and are not valid with insurance plans.
What is ivacaftor used to treat?
Ivacaftor is used to treat certain types of cystic fibrosis (an inborn disease that causes problems with breathing, digestion, and reproduction) in adults and children 4 months of age and older. Ivacaftor should be used only in people with a certain genetic make-up.
Is ivacaftor gene therapy?
Ivacaftor (Vx-770; Kalydeco, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA) is a new and novel gene-based therapy for the treatment of CF.
Why is Kalydeco so expensive?
The third rationale explaining the high prices for Kalydeco and Orkambi is fewer patients, which means high R&D costs per patient. On this basis, Vertex executives have made a case for the high price of the drugs (Nocera 2014; Verstraten 2014).
Is there a generic for Kalydeco?
No. There is currently no therapeutically equivalent version of Kalydeco available in the United States. Note: Fraudulent online pharmacies may attempt to sell an illegal generic version of Kalydeco.
What is the difference between Lumacaftor and ivacaftor?
Lumacaftor, the corrector, works by increasing the trafficking of CFTR proteins to the outer cell membrane. Ivacaftor, the potentiator, works by enabling the opening of what would otherwise be a dysfunctional chloride channel.