Another wonder drug bites the dust - try to remember this.

We were told Avastin would be a wonder drug. A breakthrough. It would cure nasty cancers. Time, Newsweek, all the usual suspects loved Avastin. Turns out, it's just a good drug that's also incredibly expensive ...

Costly Cancer Drug Offers Hope, but Also a Dilemma - Series - NYTimes.com...

...Avastin, made by Genentech, is a wonder drug. Approved for patients with advanced lung, colon or breast cancer, it cuts off tumors’ blood supply, an idea that has tantalized science for decades. And despite its price, which can reach $100,000 a year, Avastin has become one of the most popular cancer drugs in the world, with sales last year of about $3.5 billion, $2.3 billion of that in the United States...

...But there is another side to Avastin. Studies show the drug prolongs life by only a few months, if that. And some newer studies suggest the drug might be less effective against cancer than the Food and Drug Administration had understood when the agency approved its uses...

Every journalist who covers healthcare needs to keep two headlines stuck to their monitor. One should be about Avastatin the wonder drug, the other about Avastatin the good but very expensive drug.

The next time I read about a new wonder drug that will cure Cancer, or prevent Alzheimer's, I'll link to this post.

Wonder drugs do happen (biphosphonates for Paget's disease of the bone?), but they're like baseball superstars. You can spend an entire career playing AAA ball and only see one or two of 'em.

Update 7/8/08: My wife noticed I'd spelled Avastin - Avastatin. She thinks I'm suspicious of the wonder-drug statins, that maybe I still remember studies showing they don't seem to increase lifespan in patients without a history of MI ...