PHOENIX — An antivenom recently approved for fast treatment of severe reactions to scorpion stings comes with a high price tag.
Metro Phoenix hospitals are billing as much as $12,467 per vial of the antivenom, The Arizona Republic reported. Since the typical dose is three to five vials, bills for patients and their insurance companies can exceed $62,000.
The drug is made in Mexico and was clinically tested through the University of Arizona.
The cost inflates when the serum is sold in the United States. Each link in the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain from the Mexican factory to Arizona patients raises the price.
A Mexican biotechnology company produces more than 250,000 vials for Mexican residents, who are charged about $100 per vial.
Read more in Tuesday's Arizona Daily Star and StarNet.
