Draft report finds Gilead's $95K hepatitis C drug is worth it — but unaffordable

Gilead's Harvoni — the first once-daily tablet targeting chronic hepatitis C — is worth its eye-popping $95,000 price, the California Technology Assessment Forum has said in a draft report. But the state simply can't afford it.

Fierce Pharma reported that the California cost-effectiveness panel has indicated that Harvoni, which received Food and Drug Administration approval in October, may be "very cost effective" when measured under a commonly used metric called "quality-adjusted life year."

But that doesn't mean California can afford it. Using Harvoni as a treatment for the state's Medicaid patients and prison population would add $3 billion to its drug spending, a draft version of the report said, according to Fierce Pharma.

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