Okoboji, IA - Iowa taxpayers will pick up the tab to treat a prison inmate whose medication could cost upwards of $250,000 per year.

The 33-year-old man, whose name was not made public, suffers from a rare genetic disease that requires twice-monthly injections to maintain kidney function.

"If it's FDA approved and he needs it, we can't deny it," said Edward O'Brien, medical director for the corrections department.

The inmate, held at the Oakdale Medical and Classification Center, has Fabry disease, a genetic malady that allows a buildup of fat-like substances in the eyes, kidneys and lungs. "He's the in process of losing the function of his kidneys; then to the heart and every cell in his body," O'Brien said.

An enzyme-replacement drug, Fabrazyme, has been prescribed.

The inmate is behind bars on three counts of willful injury, said prisons spokesman Fred Scaletta, who did not provide details. The inmate was diagnosed within the past few years and has, until recently, received injections at University Hospitals in Iowa City.

Prison officials hope University Hospitals will use its purchasing power to reduce the bill, which represents almost 5 percent of the corrections department's annual pharmacy budget. The U of I can buy the drug for about $164,000 a year, which is $90,000 less than the corrections department pays, O'Brien said. He said the department would reimburse the hospital. "It's certainly a strain, but we're coming up with an option that could save the taxpayers money," he said.

Hospital officials forwarded the request Thursday to the Iowa Board of Regents at its meeting in Okoboji.