I'm thankful for this new drug but the price is a real joy killer. Hopefully pressure will cause them to rethink the business plan. It costs about $3 to manufacture one pill and they are charging $1000 per pill.
Who can afford that. If they priced it more reasonable they would move much more product and make even more profits.
It's just bad business and competition will move ahead.

Our provincial health plans do not cover drugs unless they are approved and administered while on is a patient in hospital.
Drugs are not free in Canada. You need a private health plan or you have to pay!

Provincial health care in Canada covers Dr. visits and hospital bills only. For seniors and low income there is a social assistance plan to cover limited drugs.
I had to pay for my own Interferon/Riba out of pocket ..OUCH ..no cure, serious damage, very expensive and still HCV pos ..
(not bitter at all ..lol)

....and those "coupons" are not good in Canada.... because drugs aren't subsidized.

I have nothing good to say about Gilead, except the drugs do work.

As of today, my pharma manager, Express Scripts, is not paying for Sovaldi. Ain't that just great? So my wonderful insurance is worthless right now in my fight against HCV as far as treatment/drugs. Other "pharma managers" are paying - with reasonable co-pays - so if you have Express Scripts, be aware - they are balking at the price, and I don't know if they will come around or not.

I'm sorry cat but this is the pressure that needs to be put on Gilead. AbbVie will be around very soon.
I have a feeling the BoD at Gilead will be loosing more than a little sleep over this. At least I hope they do!

I agree, Kramer - the BoD at Gilead BETTER be losing sleep over it - they are hurting a whole lot of people. Speaking outside of my own situation, I am happy that Gilead is going to be squirming, and I hope that EXTREME pressure is put on them for this outrageous price tag. I just hope that Abbvie doesn't come with a similar price tag or even close. However, if Gilead is going to set the bar that high, others may follow.

My chances of off-label Sovaldi and Olysio are pretty much dead in the water at this point. My doctor felt so confident he could get it through - but that was two months ago - before Express Scripts took this stance against the price. However, ES is a HUGE pharma provider, so yep, a lot of pressure is headed toward Gilead. I'm just thankful I can wait a while - not too long since I'm well compensated - but this is a tragedy for those with Express Scripts who needed to treat as soon as a non-interferon tx was FDA approved.

I wonder is Medicare is going to cover it.

The pill is $1.63c per dose to make it . That is for the one day manufacturing price. Now figure the enormous profit MINUS advertisement , where they don't have to invest a nickel to promote it.

Marilyn, you meant Medicare Part D, right?
I don't know. I don't have that.
But Medicare PART D is their pharma program.
Medicare is for doctor visits, labs, procedures, etc.
You or your doctor can call and ask your PHARMA provider if they are covering Sovaldi.
I called Express Scripts - and was told NO, they are not carrying Sovaldi.

I'll speak up about the cost of the new treatment. Here's what Gilead is probably thinking:

1) There are a total of 6.28M people with HCV in the US - and many of those don't even know that they are infected.
2) Assume 50% will treat with new drug = 3.14M
3) Assume out of the 3.14M, 50% pay full rate of $84K and 50% pay 50% ($42K), on average.
4) 50% of 3.14M = 1.57M.
5) 1.57M paying full price generates $131.9B.
6) 1.57M paying 50% generates $65.9B
7) Total MAX generated: $197.8B.
8) Gilead paid $11B to Pharmasset and conducted several more years of costly R&D.
9) Total cost: assume $22B (initial outlay + follow-up R&D).
10) Earnings before taxes, interest depreciation and amortization = $175.8B ($197.8 - 22).
11) Assume tax rate of 35%. Taxes = $61.5B
12) After tax profit = $114.3B (assume interest, depreciation and amortization = 14.3B).
13) Total US Profit = $100B.

So this is the BEST case scenario in the US if 50% of folks jump on immediately. They'll make about $100 billion, max. That's it unless the other 3.14M jump in. There are only 17K new cases of HCV reported in US each year so the 6.28M is their entire target market.

There's an estimated 120M people infected with HCV world wide. Of course Gilead will be expected to dispense these drugs to 2nd and 3rd world countries at little or no cost to them. We in the first world pay for that via our high price tag. But with the hefty $100B profit in their pocket, they shouldn't squawk too much.

Is all this too high? Well, I don't see any non-profits jumping in to develop anything. Profit motivates companies. The USA has the best (and alas, most prolific) pharma machine in the world. If it weren't for the US leading the way, where would we all get our new HCV drugs?

I was cured on Gilead's nickel (via a trial) and was glad of it. However, in 2011 my insurance company paid $72K to Vertex and Genetech for 12 agonizing week's of triple treatment drugs that FAILED.

However, this time around, if my insurance company didn't pay for Gilead's new drug, then with the new health care law, I'd go buy a more expensive insurance that would pay (as pre-existing is now a thing of the past - God I hope so!).

Gilead bashing is popular on this forum, but I for one am glad they developed the drugs and I would've found a way to pay for it if necessary.

Because being cured is a wonderful thing!

Thanks Gilead...

HC

The Fair Price Coalition and Express Script are both expressing their concern for the pricing. So as the Stock Market where Gilead's stuck went down immediately over price concerns. So i would debate the issue of "this" forum only, and people whom are concerned are the one who cant afford to buy a more expensive coverage, as they are living on fixed income. As you know a large number of people whom waiting to get cured are well over 60. See there is two side for every coin, and even the NYTimes is concerned over the pricing whom wrote a lengthy article, as at this time you got to be privileged to go on this treatment.. Yes here is the new magic drug but it is untouchable for many, as even insurance companies are refuse to pay $1000 / day treatments. One for all and all for one.

hepcat - my gripe is not with Gilead - I too am grateful they formulated the awesome Sovaldi - with Ledipasvir and 5816 to follow for Geno 1's to use with Sovaldi - some day - who knows when. My beef is with Express Scripts - my PBM who will not pay a dime toward Sovaldi - yet they would have paid for triple - almost as expensive and a LOT less effective carrying with it horrendous side effects, so ... I don't get it. I haven't cost Express Scripts a thing for HCV tx - and I know I would have bombed out on triple. So here I am - late stage 3 - was set to try for off-label tx with Sovaldi and Simeprivir, and EXPRESS SCRIPTS has destroyed that possibility - at least for now - and who knows for how long. I will have to wait another year for Abbvie from what I've been reading. So - EXPRESS SCRIPTS is the entity that is the object of my anger, not Gilead.

p.s. I cannot just go "buy" a different PBM - Express Scripts is contracted through my healthcare provider TriCare for prescription meds. It's a "bundle" plan - and I'm not giving up TriCare. I can't afford to go outside of that "bundle" and pick up a new pharma benefits manager at my age. Some people do have the option to "shop" for different PBM's - cafeteria style type deal. I don't have that option unless I have a lot of money to pay for something other than Express Scripts. For all I know, TriCare would dump me if I cut out its PBM.

So these things can be complicated.

I mean, I'm not happy about the $1000 price tag, BUT in the past, this has NEVER been an issue with at least my PBM Express Scripts. They pay a lot more for cancer treatments - hell, for liver transplants. They pay for VIAGRA, for all kinds of stuff that has nothing to do with SAVING LIVES. So why NOW - why do they out of nowhere refuse to pay for my LIFE SAVING treatment? I'm beyond disgusted.

Hepcat - there is NO WAY I can "find a way" to pay for Sovaldi. As if I could borrow that kind of money. And I don't have rich, generous relatives. For MANY of us, there is just no way to pay for this stuff out of our own pockets. The "assistance" Gilead is offering is something I don't qualify for because I have a federal healthcare program - TriCare - it's in the "fine print" of the Gilead "assistance" verbiage.

So - hey - I give up for now. I'm going to have to wait for Abbvie and hope Express Scripts will pay for THAT - and there is no guarantee.