WHO HCV guidelines call for drug affordability
The World Health Organization said stakeholders need to address the "unaffordable" cost of HCV treatments in its first set of Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) to lower the price of Sovaldi sofosbuvir. In the U.S., the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) for a 12-week course of Sovaldi is $84,000 (see BioCentury Extra, April 8).
WHO's guidelines also include specific treatment recommendations. The guidelines strongly recommend Gilead's Sovaldi in combination with ribavirin with or without peginterferon in patients with HCV genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4 infections; and Olysio simeprevir from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in combination with ribavirin and peginterferon in patients with HCV genotype 1b infection and with HCV genotype 1a infection without the Q80K polymorphism. In the U.S., the WAC for a 28-day supply of Olysio is $22,120, or about $66,360 for a 12-week course of therapy. ...