Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD -1.22% detailed its pricing plans for Covid-19 drug remdesivir, saying it will charge U.S. hospitals $3,120 for a typical patient with commercial insurance. It won’t cost patients anything, of course.
The drugmaker on Monday disclosed its pricing plans as it prepares to begin charging for the drug in July. The U.S. has been distributing remdesivir donated by Gilead since the drug was authorized for emergency use in May, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Under the company’s plans, Gilead will charge a higher price for patients with private insurance in the U.S., and a lower price for U.S. government health programs like Medicare and all other developed countries that insure their patients directly.
The government price will be $390 per dose or $2,340 per patient for the shortest treatment course and $4,290 for a longer treatment course.
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Gilead said in the U.S. it will charge nongovernment buyers such as hospitals about $520 per dose, or a third more than the government price, for patients who are commercially insured. That works out to $3,120 for a patient getting the shorter, more common course of treatment, and $5,720 for the longer treatment duration.
The agreement gives the government large supplies through September. The last donated vials were shipped on Monday.
HHS doesn’t actually get the half-million doses, just a guarantee at a price no greater to hospitals than WAC (Wholesale Acquisition Price).
Does it work? It shows promising results, but, as with all drugs, it has side effects. Early tests have doctors feeling optimistic. It was originally developed for Ebola.
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