U.S. lawmakers ask Gilead to justify hepatitis C drug’s $84,000 price

U.S. lawmakers have asked Gilead Sciences Inc. to justify the price of its new $84,000 drug for hepatitis C patients amid growing concern about the high cost to taxpayers and consumers.

In a letter to the Foster City, Calif., company Thursday, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) and two other Democratic lawmakers asked Gilead Chief Executive John C. Martin to explain the rationale for selling Sovaldi for $1,000 per pill.

Previous therapies for hepatitis C helped only about half of patients and had numerous side effects. In comparison, clinical trials of Sovaldi have shown cure rates approaching 90% with far fewer complications.

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The lawmakers noted those potential benefits for patients, but they said the expensive medication could impose substantial costs on taxpayer-funded Medicaid programs and lead to premium increases for those with employer or individual health coverage.

In their letter, Waxman, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said “our concern is that a treatment will not cure patients if they cannot afford it.�

The lawmakers said they wanted a response from the company by April 3.

Gilead has defended its pricing and said that Sovaldi represents a major advance over existing treatments for hepatitis C. The company has said the new therapy can avoid the long-term medical expenses related to liver failure, cancer and transplants.

“We had heard the concerns raised in the letter and had reached out to a number of members of Congress prior to this letter to address those concerns,� said Gilead spokeswoman Cara Miller. “We look forward to the opportunity to meet with them.�

Shares of Gilead were off $3.21, or 4%, to $72.32 in Friday trading.

Left unchecked, some hepatitis C infections result in liver damage, liver cancer or death. Chronic hepatitis C infection affects about 3 million people in the U.S., and more Americans are expected to find out they have the disease as screening becomes more common.

Beyond this new hepatitis C drug, employers and insurers are concerned about a growing number of expensive specialty medications that are coming onto the market. They say the wide adoption of these drugs could undermine efforts to rein in soaring medical costs.

A recent report estimated the annual cost could top $18 billion if half of all California patients with hepatitis C received Sovaldi, which costs $84,000 for a 12-week course, or another new drug, Olysio, which costs about $66,000.

This month, a panel of California medical experts met to discuss those potential costs and determined that Sovaldi was a “low-value� treatment in light of its high price tag.

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