In a statement to The Washington Post, Gilead said the price is fair because it is a significant improvement from previous treatments and it is not more expensive than the old treatment. It said it has had a good response from insurance companies agreeing to cover the drug. Gilead added that it offers a generous assistance program to help low-income people get the drug at a low cost.
The fact that Sovaldi actually cures hepatitis C gives it an advantage over other types of therapies, allowing the company to price it higher, said Kenneth Kaitin, director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, an independent nonprofit research group at Tufts University.
“It is legitimately a big deal,” he said.
He noted that several other companies also are developing therapies for hepatitis C and that Gilead wants to lock in an aggressive price before it faces tougher competition.
Still, the price has provoked an outcry from the insurance industry, as well as from state Medicaid directors who say taxpayers will have to shoulder much of the cost of the drug because many with hepatitis C get their health care from the government through Medicare, Medicaid and the prison system.