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Mercy’s Dr. Robert Atlas, OB/GYNN

Mercy's Dr. Robert Atlas, OB/GYN Discusses New Drug Treatment For Pre-Term Birth On WBAL-TV11's "Woman's Doctor"

The cost of a drug that has helped some women prevent preterm labor is skyrocketing now that it's been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Lakiah Troxler is seven and a half months pregnant. Her first pregnancy ended in miscarriage at 23 weeks. In her second, she delivered her daughter at 32 weeks.

She said this third time has been different.

"My second pregnancy, I had to be on complete bed rest. But this time I'm not because I had a cerclage, and I get a shot called 17p," Troxler said.

Cerclage is when doctors stitch the cervix closed, and 17p is a form of progesterone shot that's been compounded (mixed together) in some pharmacies and used since 2004.

The drug has since been FDA approved and is called Makena.

"Anything that's FDA approved should have a little more stringent regulations on the medication so that every time you get the medication, it should be the exact same," said Dr. Robert Atlas, Chair of Obstetrics at Mercy Medical Center.

The problem is Makena's new price. The drug went from around $20 an injection when it was compounded at pharmacies to $1,500 under Makena's name.

According to Dr. Atlas, this is a significant problem when it comes to access to care.

"It's a weekly injection that we recommend starting at 16 weeks to 36 weeks of gestation. With 20 injections, that's $30,000," he said.

Troxler said she knows the shot has been important in her latest pregnancy because she's not on bed rest and there's been no preterm labor.

KV Pharmaceuticals, the exclusive maker of Makena, said any woman who needs the drug will get it, and they do have a patient assistance program. But physicians are uncertain about whether insurance companies will cover it.

It's also unclear whether some doctors will still have the drug compounded for their patients. Some reports said that KV has threatened to sue any compounding pharmacies that do so.

To view Dr. Atlas’ interview with WBAL-TV11 online, and to see a more indepth interview on the topic, click this link: http://www.wbaltv.com/womansdoctor/27265558/detail.html.