UK's NHS Backs World's Costliest Drug for Treatment of MLD + Report Finds Increase in Pharma Cybersecurity Threats – Xtalks Life Science Podcast Ep. 48

In this episode, Ayesha discussed the NHS’s recommendation of Libmeldy, a gene therapy for the treatment of the rare disease MLD, which is officially the world’s most expensive drug with a list price of almost $4 million USD. The drug was developed by Orchard Therapeutics and the NHS was able to negotiate a greater discount on it with the company so that it can offer it to patients in England. Libmeldy was initially rejected by the drug price watchdog NICE in England over its exorbitant price. The editorial team discussed the high costs associated with orphan drugs and how both governments and pharma companies must work together to make them accessible to patients.

The team also talked about a digital risk report that revealed the existence of significant cybersecurity vulnerabilities among the world’s top pharma companies. These include breaches and leakages of items like email addresses, passwords and even credit/banking information. Moreover, a significant percentage of breaches and record exposures occurred after 2020 and worsened in 2021 during the height of COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts. Widespread cybersecurity breaches can lead to high-level attacks such as ransomware or coordinated disinformation campaigns. The team discussed how cyberattacks could hit almost every aspect of a pharma company’s operations, from R&D through to supply chains, and how this necessitates greater investments in cybersecurity infrastructure.