Etanercept (Enberel), on label dosage, in combination with the standard DMARD Methotrexate. But she/we quit Methotrexate because the side effects are ruinous (intense anxiety with sleeplessness and exhaustion) and the positive effect is mild-to-moderate. We will probably have to switch to Arava as the secondary, but that is REALLY expensive as well...

My regrets on what I think the Avonex must be for. I had a friend who suffered with that. We lost contact, but its a bitch of a disease.

My uncle works in Big Pharma, so I know all about the approval process, plus I know so much about the R&D of Biologics that I could practically write a book (you know me Tom, when something becomes a part of my life, I research the living daylights out of it). Same thing with what is known and what is unknown about Rheumatoid...

The fact is that yes, it is expensive to create a new class of drug. Yes, the FDA process is (necessarily) complex and exhaustive. Yes, the time-line vs copyright issue is not trivial. I grant all that.

But. In the end. Big Pharma makes BIG bucks, and pricing decisions are often more related to what they can get from what country than what it cost for them to research and manufacture the compound.

If this were pies or socks or computers, I would not batt an eyelid, but this is raw human suffering. I don't know what the answer is. They deserve wealth, but yours and mine also deserve a liveable life at an affordable price when the means for such is out there.

If you or I lost our insurance tomorrow, I think we would sing the same tune, in harmony. We have unique perspectives.

Davin L.