CLOZAPINE TOO EXPENSIVE FOR MOST PATIENTS SENATE HEARING TODAY WILL ADDRESS ITS COSTS.(Local)

Byline: Peter Wehrwein Staff writer

Clozapine, a drug heralded as the first new treatment for schizophrenia in decades, is so expensive that many people who need it cannot afford it, say mental health officials and advocates.

"People are frantic to get the drug, but they can't get it because it is so expensive," said Jean Hebb, a representative of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, a statewide organization for families with mentally ill relatives.

The drug's manufacturer, Sandoz U.S., contends the system being used to distribute clozapine is necessary to protect patients from the occasionally life-threatening suppression of the immune system. …