Lawmakers Attack Cost of New Hepatitis Drug
By ANDREW POLLACK, NYT
MARCH 21, 2014
A new drug to treat hepatitis C that costs $1,000 a pill has caused rising concern among insurers and state Medicaid programs. It has now also spurred interest from Democratic congressmen whose queries about the drug prompted a sell-off in biotechnology stocks on Friday.
Three Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have demanded that Gilead Sciences, the developer, justify the price of its drug, which is called Sovaldi.
“Our concern is that a treatment will not cure patients if they cannot afford it,” the congressmen said in their letter, which was sent on Thursday.
It was signed by Henry A. Waxman of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, and Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey and Diana DeGette of Colorado.
(More here.)
A new drug to treat hepatitis C that costs $1,000 a pill has caused rising concern among insurers and state Medicaid programs. It has now also spurred interest from Democratic congressmen whose queries about the drug prompted a sell-off in biotechnology stocks on Friday.
Three Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have demanded that Gilead Sciences, the developer, justify the price of its drug, which is called Sovaldi.
“Our concern is that a treatment will not cure patients if they cannot afford it,” the congressmen said in their letter, which was sent on Thursday.
It was signed by Henry A. Waxman of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, and Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey and Diana DeGette of Colorado.
(More here.)
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