Monday, June 16, 2014

Britain Says #Gilead #Science #Sovaldi Drug Too Expensive to Pay $84,000 for drug that costs $67 to make.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/16/us-gilead-sciences-britain-idUSKBN0ER24E20140616

Britain's cost agency not ready to back Gilead hepatitis C drug

LONDON Mon Jun 16, 2014 12:59pm EDT

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said it was "minded not to recommend" the drug, which is also known as sofosbuvir. The decision poses a hurdle to its widespread adoption in Britain. ...


UK gatekeepers nix hep C drug Sovaldi till Gilead ponies up more evidence

FiercePharma - ‎3 hours ago‎
Should the British health service pay for the expensive-yet-effective hepatitis C treatment Sovaldi? The U.K.'s cost-effectiveness gatekeepers say they're not convinced. With an $84,000 price tag in the U.S., Sovaldi has touched off a vociferous debate about ...


 ...

"The available evidence shows that sofosbuvir is an effective treatment for chronic hepatitis C in certain patients," Carole Longson, director of NICE's health evaluation center, said in a statement. "However, evidence is lacking for some subgroups of patients with chronic hepatitis C, and there are also substantial uncertainties in the evidence base presented by the manufacturer."

It's an early guidance, with final word expected in October. In the realm of NICE's "not minded to" decisions, it's fairly positive. Chances are that Gilead ($GILD) can sway the outcome with additional evidence and number-crunching. But NICE's evaluation could spur price negotiations; often, the agency presses drugmakers for discounts or other cost-cutting schemes, and successfully. Already, Gilead has priced Sovaldi much lower in the U.K. than in the U.S., at about $57,000.


UK Cost Regulator May Reject Gilead's Sovaldi Treatment

Businessweek - ‎8 hours ago‎
The U.K.'s health-cost regulator said it may reject Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD:US)'s $60,000 hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, and asked for more data before deciding whether the British government should pay for the treatment. Gilead lacks evidence on Sovaldi for ...


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