Gilead Sciences has recently launched a highly effective hepatitis C drug Sovaldi at a whopping price of USD 84,000 per treatment course at the same time when ‘How to price a cure’ discussion has entered the pharma industry. Gilead bought a launch-ready drug and launched it very quietly hoping that it’s very cost-effective and they don’t have to do any discount scheme until any other competitor does the same. Gilead always made a clear stand and has never apologized for how it priced Sovaldi or its subsequent hepatitis C drugs. Gilead is again facing backlash and has started a new debate after pricing its newly approved CAR-T therapy Yescarta at USD 373,000 per patient. However, Sovaldi is no longer a hot topic it once was due to the declining hepatitis C market revenues. With the entry of new one-time gene therapies in the market, the question of how to price a cure remains a topic of interest for almost everyone related to the pharmaceutical industry. Spark Therapeutics recently launched a gene therapy treatment with a price tag of USD 850,000, the company aims to pair it with contracts that tie net price to the treatment’s efficacy at certain points in time.
