Reporting Highlights
- A Record Price: The gene therapy Zolgensma helped children born with a fatal disease, spinal muscular atrophy, grow up to run and play. But the cost was stunning: $2 million per dose.
- Cashing In: While taxpayers and small charities funded the drug’s early development, executives, venture-capital backers and a pharma giant have reaped the profits.
- Priced Out: The drug’s cost adds to the nation’s ballooning bill for prescription drugs and puts Zolgensma out of reach for kids in many low- and middle-income countries.
These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.