Gilead Responds To CMS Blog Highlighting High Cost Of Harvoni: Most Payers Receive Substantial Discounts Off The List Price

Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD recently reported a Q3 EPS miss, driven by lower than expected sales of its hepatitis C drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi. The poor performance may have been in response to increasing competition from companies like AbbVie Inc ABBV and Merck & Co., Inc. MRK, as well as pricing pressure.

However, spending on Harvoni remains quite high. In fact, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed that the drug with the highest total spending in Medicaid in 2015 was Harvoni.

Source: CMS

To shed some light on the issue, Benzinga contacted Gilead.

“Gilead’s HCV therapies are medical breakthroughs that offer a cure to the vast majority of patients suffering from hepatitis C, a life threatening and debilitating disease,” the company stated.

Harvoni and Sovaldi not only save lives, but also “provide long-term value and cost savings to the healthcare system as a whole,” they added, noting that one-time cost of Harvoni and Sovaldi is substantially lower than the costs associated with treating HCV for a lifetime.

“Most payers receive substantial discounts off the list price, with the steepest discounts going to payers like Medicaid and the VA. Both the VA and Medicaid currently receive discounts in excess of 50% on Harvoni,” a statment from the companty concluded.