Senate Report Says Hep C Drug Maker Sought To Maximize Profits Despite Costs To Patients
Officials at Gilead Sciences, which makes the drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni that can cure hepatitis C infections, opted for a higher price tag even though they knew it would put the medications out of the reach of some patients and government programs, according to a Senate Finance Committee investigation.
The Wall Street Journal:
Gilead Knew Hepatitis Drug Price Was High, Senate Says
Gilead Sciences Inc. knew the $1,000-a-pill launch price for its hepatitis treatment would be out of reach for many patients and cause “extraordinary problems” for government health programs, according to a U.S. Senate report released Tuesday. The 144-page committee report adds to a chorus of criticism of escalating drug prices from patients, doctors, insurers and some presidential candidates. U.S. congressional committees also have opened inquiries into drug-pricing practices by other companies including Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., and House Democrats have formed a drug-pricing task force to explore ways to reduce costs. (Loftus, 12/1)
The Associated Press:
Report: Drug Maker Was Focused On Profits, Not Patients
In a statement, Gilead said it disagreed with the report’s conclusions. Gilead stock was down slightly most of the day Tuesday, as broader financial markets posted solid gains. The company’s first breakthrough drug, Sovaldi, was priced at $1,000 per pill, or $84,000 for a course of treatment. Gilead has since introduced a more expensive, next-generation pill called Harvoni, highly effective and simpler for patients to use. It’s priced at $94,500 for a course of treatment. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/1)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog:
How An $84,000 Drug Got Its Price: ‘Let’s Hold Our Position … Whatever The Headlines’
Gilead Sciences executives were acutely aware in 2013 that their plan to charge an exorbitantly high price for a powerful new hepatitis C drug would spark public outrage, but they pursued the profit-driven strategy anyway, according to a Senate Finance Committee investigation report released Tuesday. "Let's not fold to advocacy pressure in 2014," Kevin Young, Gilead's executive vice president for commercial operations, wrote in an internal email. ‘‘Let’s hold our position whatever competitors do or whatever the headlines." (Johnson and Dennis, 12/1)
NBC News:
Company Put Profit Over Patients In Pricing $1,000 Hepatitis Pills: Senate Report
The Senate report paints a picture of a drug that burdened state and federal health insurance plans. "For example, state Medicaid programs nationwide spent $1.3 billion before rebates on the drug in 2014. Even with that expenditure, less than 2.4 percent of the roughly 700,000 Medicaid enrollees with Hepatitis C were treated with Sovaldi," the report reads. Hepatitis C affects about 3.2 million Americans, killing more than 15,000 each year, mostly from illnesses such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. (Fox, 12/1)
Meanwhile, another drug maker that dramatically raised prices recently may be getting some cut-rate competition -
CBS News:
Reining In The Rising Cost Of Some Prescription Drugs
Patients who suffer from the rare infection toxoplasmosis got some help Tuesday when the drug benefits manager Express Scripts offered to sell a treatment for a dollar a pill. The drug is similar to Daraprim, sold by Turing Pharmaceuticals for $750 a pill. (Dahler, 12/1)
Marketplace:
More Drama In Prescription Drug Pricing
The price of prescription drugs has become something of a flashpoint in recent weeks, due in no small part to something that the company Turing Pharmaceuticals did, when it hiked the price of Daraprim, a pill often used by HIV patients and pregnant women, from $13.50 to $750 a dose. But now Express Scripts, which purchases drugs for insurers and large employers, will work with a different pharmaceutical firm, Imprimis, to make a generic version of that drug for a dollar a pill. (Gorenstein, 12/1)
