I can’t help but wonder how much big pharma is putting the squeeze on the makers of afrezza-- if / when it catches on, the multi-billion dollar industry of insulin, insulin pumps, cgm, everything would be turned upside down… Even strip makers… I guarantee the world would use a fraction the strips if afrezza were the standard rapid insulin… There are billions of dollars stacked against it… And it is a superior product by a landslide… So I can’t help but wonder if big business is pulling some strings here against it (such as pressuring he fda to insist on warnings that the experts said weren’t justified, insisting on spirometry tests that the experts said weren’t necessary) etc… Deliberately creating a sense of skepticism about their competition… . something isn’t right in this picture— this is a superior product, and easier and more effective way of doing things…
I’m sharing this article that I think is helpful for those with concerns about lung safety. Its from a 2009 interview with Al Mann, this is from 6 years ago, the date is on the article. Here’s is a key excerpt, the link to the actual article is below. If you do the math, that’s over 10 years that this drug has been used prior to being approved.
That’s a big statement for something so new. What about safety concerns? We hear that the FDA Endocrine Advisory Committee isn’t even going to be scrutinizing this product…?
The FDA is already familiar with the kinetics of the product. We’ve done extensive safety studies, but not using Xrays like they did with Exubera. You can’t detect lung cancer with Xrays. You have to do it in animals by sacrificing the animal at the end of the study, in order to examine every cell in the body and see if there’s damage. That’s how you find out if there’s carcinogenicity.
We also did high-definition CT scans on the 600 patients in our study. That’s the best you can do with people. We saw no change in their lungs, and some of them have been using the product for up to 5 years now.
As a user, I can tell you that I agree with every thing Al Mann said here in this article.
To those of you who aren’t familiar with Al Mann— he was also the founder of MiniMed-- who brought the market the first commercially viable insulin pumps, and was eventually bought out by Medtronic. So its not as if he’s some quack with no track record in this field. He’s basically the “father” of modern insulin pumps that you all love so much-- now he’s telling you that he’s found a better way— just might be worth listening to.
I’m changing insurance plans at the end of 2015. My new Rx plan currently reqires prior auth for Afrezza. I’m certainly hoping that this doesn’t become a nightmare (or that the PA requirement ends in 2015) — but I’ve already decided that if my insurance won’t cover it, no matter how difficult it is, no matter what sacrifices I have to make, I will pay cash for it. I actually looked into this, and it appears that a “one month supply” (which will actually last me closer to 1.5 months as I don’t use it for every single meal will cost me about $285 cash… so that’s about $190 a month… or roughly $6 / day— That’s comparable to the price of a pack of cigarettes-- and I’m convinced that afrezza is a lot better for me---- yet a lot of people with a lot less money than me buy a pack of smokes every day…
I just got off the phone with the Afrezza discount card program… I’m pretty excited about this-- In the possibility that my new insurance plan denies coverage and I go the cash route-- their discount card offers a $150 / box discount. This will bring the price of a box down to about $135… which will last me about 1.5 months… so $3 / day. There was no income limitation, etc… That’s less than a decent cup of coffee!
If insurance does cover it, it limits any copay to $30 (I think that’s how it works.)
This program lasts until the end of 2016 then they haven’t announced if they’ll renew it, cancel it, redesign it, whatever.
editing to add-- the prices quoted above are from rxcut.com, which I didn’t realize actually includes their discount program as well… so I’m not sure if those two discounts can be combined or not, but the point is I’m ecstatic to realize I don’t have to answer to an insurance company, either way, it’s very affordable for me. The "Cash price on the last “3 month rx” I got was $1167-- this is for 3 boxes… so $389-150 =239 / box… box lasts me 1.5 months so $159 / month or $5 / day. I’ll update if I determine I can combine the rxcut discount with the afrezza savings card…
edit to add— afrezza discount card can not be combined with RXcut card, so the $5/day breakdown above is probably more accurate/
Anyway, I can breathe a sigh of relief-- no obstacles I can’t handle… not out of reach with or without insurance…
This is last Tuesday’s CGM trace. I made three of that day’s four corrections (syringe icon) with Afrezza. I would have had way more hyperglycemia without it.
I bet you would have… I find that sometimes the 4s are just a little too wimpy when theres a whole lot of fat digesting, even for corrections, or that it might require several 4s spaced out over some time. But when I eat less fat it keeps me perfectly level with no complex games like that. Your traces there are exactly like what I’d probably see with a 12:00 extra-cheese pizza lunch.
My first correction that day was with 8 units of Afrezza, two 4-unit cartridges. It really put an early top on that mountain. The second and fourth corrections were just 4 units. Amazing stuff.
I think most endos and CDE’s would take a dim view of the stacking tactics some of us use. When I went to a Ponder Sugar Surfing session in August, he admitted that he has no problem with stacking. He’s an endo and a T1D.
Sam - my insurance doesn’t cover, and I’ve been getting the 4-unit X 90 cartridges, using the Afrezza card. I see the online site shows the card is extended through 2016.
You are correct that it can’t be combined with GoodRx or other similar discount cards (I tried too). I found the best price at CostCo.
$115.
I heard you can sign up for pharmacy only membership, which I don’t have since I have the regular membership. Not sure if that impacted the cost.
That’s great… Lower than anything I’ve found on the internet— at prices that low, if one can afford it, I would t care at all if insurance covered… I actually find it pretty liberating to circumvent that whole process every chance I get
Do you have any of the links to the expert committee that “advised the fda…approval”. As you stated in your subsequent post, big pharma stand to lose millions and billions of $$ if afreeza were to become the standard treatment for diabetics. I would like to know if the “breathing problems” were a made up concern.
