Profits over Patients: The $84,000 Hepatitis C Pill


Sovaldi is currently the most expensive drug in the world, costing $84,000 for a 12-week session. A treatment for hepatitis C, Sovaldi was initially priced at $36,000 for the 12-week session. This massive price hike not only puts a burden on the 3.2 million hepatitis C sufferers in the United States who may potentially be interested in Sovaldi, but it has also caused confusion and frustration from medical insurance companies and Washington.

Before it was released to the market, Sovaldi was bought by Gilead. As soon as this transaction was complete, the price jumped, with many speculating that the increase in price was solely done for revenue.

Gilead, Profit Machine Exposed

In 2015, an investigation launched by the United States Finance Committee found that Gilead’s pricing strategy focused solely on maximizing profits. Information exposed that a lower price would allow the drug to be more accessible. Gilead, unsurprisingly, has placed profits over patients.

Why Are Expensive Medication So Prevalent?

In the United States, long patents give drug makers exclusivity for 20 years, with most drugs being monopolized for about 12 years. Sovaldi is currently protected by seven patents, with the only supplier being Gilead Sciences Inc. In 2015, several legal and advocacy groups sought to void Sovaldi’s patents.

Patents Stop Generic Versions

If the patents surrounding Sovaldi were broken up, generic versions of the drug from India would be accessible. The generic version of Sovaldi would cost about $900.

Lack of Price Control

Unlike other countries, the United States is very relaxed when it comes to price control on medication. In the United States, drugmakers can set wholesale prices based on the costs of competing brand-name medication.

What’s Being Done About It

Outside of advocacy group putting a spotlight on this failed system of price control, many support the concepts set forth by presidential hopeful, Bernie Sanders. He is a politician that has spearheaded fiscal accountability and responsibility from major industries, including those in the pharmaceutical business.

Bernie Sanders has been a proponent of using prizes as an alternative to patents. In 2011, Bernie Sanders put forth two pieces of legislation – S. 1137 and S. 1138. These pieces of legislation favored a system of incentives to jumpstart developmental research, as well as remove legal barriers for generic medication. Learn more about Bernie Sanders, and how he is attempting to save on governmental assistance programs via his Medicare for All health care plan.

Featured image by Will Thomas on Flickr, available under an Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Core competencies are in business administration and urban development, but an avid political writer, activist, and radical centrist at night. Not politically correct, but not a degenerate. I write about things that interest me - hopefully, they'll interest you.