World's most expensive medication

Garrett Shakespeare, a 23-year-old North Vancouverite, suffers from paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare blood disease that attacks red blood cells.  The treatment consists of intravenous doses of Soliris; a single 45-minute treatment costs $17,000.  According to Forbes magazine, Soliris, at US $409,500 a year, is the world's single most expensive drug.

British Columbia initially refused to fund Shakespeare's treatment, but a Canada-wide lobbying effort by PNH patients has resulted in an agreement to fund treatment, which was announced at the meeting of Canadian premiers in Vancouver.  There are approximately 90 PNH patients in Canada who need the drug.  Symptoms include red urine, tiredness, shortness of breath, and palpitations, abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing and pain during swallowing, erectile dysfunction, blood clots, and stroke.  PNH can be life-threatening.