(Wired) – The therapy for sickle cell disease is projected to cost over $2 million per patient, and only a small number of facilities in the US have the technological capability to provide it. We see a certain cycle over and over: The first wave of a new technology that hits the market is expensive and inaccessible to most people. Fifteen years ago, a smartphone was a luxury item; now 85 percent of the planet owns one. Similarly, laptop computers and tablets, once only for the wealthy, are now ubiquitous across the world.

But life-saving medicine cannot be treated as a luxury, and we cannot simply wait to let market forces drive prices down over time. (Read More)