Gilead Sued Over High Price Tag for Sovaldi

A large public employer has filed a federal class-action lawsuit accusing Gilead Sciences of price gouging with its $1,000-a-pill hepatitis C drug Sovaldi.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) claims the $2.4 million it paid for Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) in 2014 is unfair in light of the steep discounts that Gilead provides to federal agencies and other countries.

For example, Gilead has reached deals with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide discounts of 44 percent on the drug, the lawsuit says. In addition, the drugmaker allows generic versions to be sold in 91 developing countries at lower prices.

Gilead can extract higher prices from some payers because it knows there are no other alternative means to get Sovaldi or an alternative to treat and cure Hepatitis C, according to the lawsuit filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

SEPTA contends the drugmaker effectively has priced some consumers and employers out of the Sovaldi market. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

Sovaldi was approved in 2013 as a cure for hepatitis C and costs roughly $84,000 for a full treatment. It generated $8.5 billion in sales through the end of September, according to Gilead’s latest financial report.

The high price has drawn fire from many quarters. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) this summer asked Gilead for data to justify the price, including research and development and production costs. Gilead has said it is cooperating with the Senate investigation.

Gilead did not return a request for comment on the lawsuit as of press time. — Robert King

Originally appeared in Drug Industry Daily, the pharmaceutical industry’s number one source for regulatory news and information. Click here for more information.