More than 9 million people in the United States take prescription medications daily. In 2019, pharmaceutical companies made $511.5 billion off of these medicines. Without the consistent inflow of this revenue, these big pharmaceutical companies could no longer exist, or so it is thought. And this is where the big issue with the commercial viability of stem cells starts.
So what is the stem cell procedure?
To understand the commercial viability of stem cells, you first need to understand the procedure involved with stem cells. There are many different forms of stem cell therapies, but in this article, we will be focusing on the most common one; autologous bone marrow stem cell transplants. Autologous is the type of stem cell therapy that involves transplanting stem cells, not activating your own bodies stem cells.
The first step in bone marrow stem cell transplant is to first collect the cells that will be transplanted. These cells can be one of two types; the patient’s own or donated cells. If the cells are the patient’s own, then the next step will be to process the blood or bone marrow. Through processing the patient’s blood or bone marrow, we are able to purify the cells and then concentrate the stem cells for use. This step is very important, especially if the patient has a condition causing the need for this transplant, such as Leukemia. Then, the cells are frozen to preserve them until we are ready to use them. If the cells are being donated, then these last two steps would not be necessary.
After this, the patient undergoes chemotherapy or radiation, or both. This part is important because we need to kill the bad cells so that they will not continue to cause damage. Whether or not the patient is using donated cells or their own they must complete the step. Finally, the stem cells are thawed and transplanted into the patient. One common way of transplanting the cells is to insert them into the patient through a central venous catheter. As you can see, this is a big procedure.
Cost: The Killer
The reason you need to understand the procedure is so that you can begin to understand why it costs so much for these treatments. After the whole process, including any difficulties you might run into, the average treatment is going to cost between $5,000 and $50,000. This amount may differ depending on your condition and treatment plan. And this is where the big issue comes; it costs A LOT. After seeing the cost, most people decide to stick with the one pill a day method, and I see why they do. Even though realistically, the big pharma companies are making an average of $57,000 off of every patient, it is still hard for people outside of the regenerative medicine industry to realize the worth of this procedure. And this is where we run into our first issue with the commercial viability of stem cells. Without people willing to pay for the procedure, the procedure cannot be done. There also cannot be more research that is done in this field, which will limit our ability to make it more cost-effective and painless. Unless more education is done on stem cell treatment options and the big pharma system is changed, I believe it is unlikely that stem cells will be commercially viable.
Education: A hope for the future
But, we can’t give up hope yet. There is still a chance for stem cells to become the future. And the best way to do this to EDUCATE. Along, with the education about the process, as well as the costs of medications, a big conception of stem cells that the only way to derive them is to destroy the embryo. This is the reason a lot of people oppose stem cells, but it is not true. There are now many different ways to get stem cells, with the most common being getting them from bone marrow. If we can educate more people on this, then more people may be for stem cell treatments.
Another important factor we need to educate on is the process. The more people know the more comfortable they will be with the procedure. Even though most of the current procedures are painful, they are definitely worth it. One stem cell treatment could provide years of health and reduce pain significantly. And this is where education on daily medications come in. Even though they are inexpensive in the short term, they quickly add up. If we can help people understand this, we will hopefully be able to get people to invest in this treatment and make the future of medicine a possible future.
Final thoughts
So, the future of medicine is not looking so great commercially. The domination of the field by big pharma companies and daily medications are limiting the marketing capabilities of stem cells. The expensive and invasive procedures currently make it hard for stem cells to be commercially viable. But, we should not give up hope yet. Through education and research, we will hopefully be able to bring more people on board and bring this research into the economic future.
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