WELL, THAT’S GOOD NEWS FOR PEOPLE WITH RARE DISEASES: Big Profits Seen In Rare Diseases. “For decades, drugmakers were reluctant to invest in rare-disease treatments, preferring to focus on mass-market drugs for cholesterol, heart trouble, and other common problems. Then, starting a decade ago, patents on some of the industry’s most lucrative medicines began to expire, and cheap generic drugs started wiping out tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. So many companies shifted money to rare-disease drugs, knowing that those medicines cost less to develop and will face limited competition. Some already sell for $100,000 or more for a year of treatment, although drugmakers usually give financial aid to patients and big discounts to insurers.”