We've upset the (acting) FDA commissioner

FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless had some sharp words for media outlets (like STAT) that chose to highlight the $2.1 million price tag for Novartis's Zolgensma, a recently approved gene therapy to treat spinal muscular atrophy.

“This is a completely novel, almost magical medical miracle that ends a devastating disease for lots of little kids, and the thing you care most about is the price? Really?” Sharpless said Tuesday during a fireside chat at BIO’s annual convention in Philadelphia.

Sharpless added a biblical slant to his analysis when the parent of a child with SMA asked him a question about the messaging around the treatment.

“You know, at this wedding Jesus was at where he turned water into wine, there was probably somebody who said, ‘Hey, I wanted Chardonnay! This is red wine,’" he said. "I feel like it’s always that reaction. I’ve been working my whole career to see these kinds of medical miracles take place. To have it sort of discounted — that bothered me.”