Gilead Pricing of Remdesivir is “Immoral”, Says Pennsylvania’s Treasurer
August 7, 2020
Joe Torsella, Pennsylvania’s elected treasurer, has come out swinging, calling Gilead Sciences “immoral” for their efforts to wring profit out the investigational drug remdesiver for the treatment of COVID-19. Priced between $320-$520 per vial, Torsella states that he believes the company is reaping excessive profits from a treatment used for a global pandemic, when estimates suggest that the medication costs about $1/vial for the company to produce. The $1/vial estimate was derived from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER).
In June, Gilead announced the remdesivir price of $2,340 for a full five-day course of treatment for government buyers, including patients with government-backed health insurance. Private insurers, meanwhile, would be charged $520 per vial, or $3,120 for a full course of treatment. The company has stated that use of remdesivir would result in an average savings of $12,000/patient as a result of shortened hospital stays.
“American taxpayers deserve a fair price for a drug they already paid to develop,” Torsella said. “It is immoral for any company to reap excessive profits from a treatment against a global pandemic. American taxpayers deserve a fair price for a drug they already paid to develop.”
Remdesivir won an emergency-use FDA approval in May based on clinical trials showing the drug shortened the recovery time for some COVID-19 patients.
Read more here: https://www.law360.com/articles/1298809/pa-treasurer-slams-gilead-s-coronavirus-treatment-pricing
(Source: Fair M, Law360, Accessed on August 7, 2020)
