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Lawmakers Call for Azar’s Intervention on HCV Drug Prices

February 26, 2018

Citing a public health emergency, a group of congressional Democrats called on HHS Secretary Alex Azar to use existing legislative authority to lower the price of hepatitis C virus treatments.

The Feb. 15 letter states that Azar may use existing authority under 28 U.S.C. 1498, which authorizes federal agencies to use patented inventions “for a reasonable and entire compensation” when used in the interest of the government.

“With 20,000 Americans currently dying from hepatitis C every year, it is evident that the epidemic is well beyond any potential threshold for declaring a public health emergency,” the letter said.

Many hepatitis C deaths directly resulted from patients being unable to access treatments due to high prices such as Gilead’s Harvoni (ledipasvir and sofosbuvir) and AbbVie’s Mavyret (glecaprevir and pibrentasvir), the letter stated.

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