When
California based Gilead Sciences announced a breakthrough treatment in
late 2013 that cures most kinds of Hepatitis C, people were outraged at the cost: $84,000 in total, or nearly $1,000 a pill.
There
are more expensive drugs, but Gilead Science’s hepatitis drugs’—Sovaldi
and Harvoni—combination of eye-popping price, sales, and patient
population (100 million plus worldwide) is unprecedented (paywall).
But
on February 3rd, Gilead announced in its quarterly earnings call that
it expects to cut the price of its Hepatitis C drugs an average of 46%
this year in the US. That’s double last year’s discount. Some government
plans will pay less than half the list price for Harvoni (a Gilead
follow up treatment that combines Sovaldi’s active ingredient with
another drug).
Read more... Labels: drug pricing