WHAT PRICE FOR HEALTH

A 20% REDUCTION IN THE INCIDENCE OF HEART ATTACK AND STROKE IS SUBSTANTIAL. A pricey new drug designed to slash harmful cholesterol levels in heart patients has been shown to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 20 percent. It’s an important breakthrough, but a big question remains: Is the benefit big enough to warrant the drug’s $14,000 price tag? The results of a two-year study of the drug, called Repatha (evolocumab), were announced at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, which involved more than 27,000 men and women, cost about $1 billion and was paid for by Amgen, the maker of the drug, the New York Times reported.