State Treasurers Accuse Gilead of Seeking ‘Unreasonable Profits’ From Remdesivir

In a letter to Gilead Sciences, almost a dozen state treasurers accused the company of seeking “unreasonable profits” from its antiviral COVID-19 treatment remdesivir, demanding that it lower the price.

Gilead announced in late June that it would charge U.S. insurers $3,120 for a 6-vial, 5-day course of remdesivir and a lower price of $2,340 for the government (DID, June 30).

The treasurers said this price sets “a dangerous precedent” for future COVID-19 treatments and is “disconnected from economic reality,” adding that it ignores the $70 million in taxpayer funds spent on the drug’s development.

The treasurers were not impressed with the 120,000 treatment courses of the drug the company donated through the end of June and said it was not a “sufficient substitute for reasonable pricing.”  They also cited a study that found it costs approximately 93 cents to produce a dose of the drug.

The letter was signed by the state treasurers of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada, Maine, Iowa, Oregon, Colorado, Wisconsin, Texas, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

This is not the first time state officials have called for affordable pricing on remdesivir. Last month, almost three dozen state attorneys general called on the federal government to bypass Gilead’s patents on the drug and begin producing it (DID, Aug. 6).

Gilead said it was “disappointed by the mischaracterization” of remdesivir’s price, claiming it is priced “significantly below the value it provides.”

Read the letter here: www.fdanews.com/09-18-20-GileadSciencesLetter.pdf. — Jordan Williams