$84,000 for a twelve week supply of Sovaldi, Gilead’s new Hepatitis C drug, (sofosbuvir), which was approved Friday by the F.D.A.—$1,000 a pill!
Drug is only one portion of a two drug, twelve-week combination treatment for hepatitis; Gilead’s predatory history of price gouging on lifesaving medications sets stage for action from government officials and drug purchasers for government programs to compel Gilead to cut pricing.
December 06, 2013 05:49 PM Eastern Standard Time
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the nation’s largest HIV/AIDS nonprofit medical provider, expressed its profound outrage at Gilead Sciences over the price of Sovaldi, its new Hepatitis C drug, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday. Gilead set the price at $84,000 Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) for a twelve-week supply of the drug--$1,000 per pill. The drug, known during drug trials as GS-7977 (sofosbuvir), is one component of a two-drug, twelve-week combination treatment for Hepatitis C, which affects an estimated 3.2 million people in the United States.
“For Gilead, we have outrage, pure and simple”
“For Gilead, we have outrage, pure and simple,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “There can be no better example of the unbridled greed of the pharmaceutical industry than Gilead’s latest move: pricing its new hepatitis drug at $84,000 per 28-tablet bottle or $1,000 per pill! Gilead’s predatory pricing of Sovaldi is a direct threat to public heath, and it sets the stage for legislators and advocates to demand that officials who purchase drugs for government programs like Medicaid, Medicare and the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs act decisively to rein in pricing and protect patient access to lifesaving medications.”
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: AHF to comment on FDA approval, and Gilead’s pricing, of its new Hepatitis C drug, Sovaldi (sofosbuvir).
WHO: Michael Weinstein, President, AIDS Healthcare Foundation
CONTACT: Ged Kenslea, AHF Communications +1.323.791.5526 mobile
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 260,000 individuals in 32 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare
Contacts
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Ged Kenslea
Communications Director
Work: 323-308-1833
Cell: 323-791-5526
gedk@aidshealth.org
or
Tom Myers
General Counsel & Chief of Public Affairs
Work: 323-860-5259
tom.myers@aidshealth.org
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