hcv drug pricing , page-2

Hello, all! Yank from the states here...

Here is my opinion.... Gilead, I believe could have sold Sovaldi at much less and still made a profit. However, with other companies coming to market with their own hep c drugs, and with Gilead paying 11 billion for Pharmaset... I think they priced it for maximum profit, considering the ease of treatment, availability as the first non interferon treatment, and their need to recoup funds before others get approved. Benitec is not faced with the pressure of those constraints so much with TT-034, not withstanding how much it costs to produce this treatment. Benitec could easily price their treatment at 20K American, and they would quickly and painfully pull the rug out from underneath gilead. I not only think of single payer systems like canda or uk and such, but also the freedom Medicare in the states would have at providing treatment that is cost effective for them too.

IMO, if benitec priced it right, they could potentially lower the cost bar on HCV treatment for everyone worldwide, as the average cost of treatment goes down, and other big pharmaset lose money.

On side note, I sure hope Abbvie isn't stupid enough to price their treatment similar to Gilead's and think they will sweep up a lot. People will gladly pay the same amount for an easier, less complicated treatment...even if Abbvie has a treatment that cures 98 percent versus 96 percent (or whatever the actual numbers are).