U.S. Senate Investigation Says Gilead puts Profits before Hepatitis C Patients

A U.S. Senate investigation found that Gilead Sciences puts its profits ahead of patients who need life-saving hepatitis C drugs.

According to the report, in 2015, Medicaid spent a total of $1.3 billion before rebates on the company's new drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni. The medicine went to 2.4 percent of the liver disease patients who enrolled in the federal insurance program with at least 700,000 people on Medicaid still waiting for treatment.

The Senate Finance Committee 18-month long investigation concluded that there was no justification for the pricing system for the two treatments. The investigation had looked into the costs of research and development that went into making both drugs as well as the $11 billion that the company spent to buy the drugs from Pharmasset.

"It was always Gilead's plan to maximize revenue, and affordability and accessibility was an afterthought," Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (D) said at a news conference reported by Reuters.

The investigators believe that if the prices were reduced, more people would be able to get treatment.

Sovaldi's list price when it was introduced was $1,000 per pill or $84,000 for a full treatment course. Harvoni, which was introduced later, costs even more at $94,500 for a full course of treatment. The report noted that the total amount that was spent on Sovaldi and Harvoni prior to the rebates by Medicare and Medicaid in 2014 was more than $5 billion.

"If Gilead's approach to pricing is the future of how blockbuster drugs are launched, it will cost billions and billions of dollars to treat just a fraction of patients," Wyden added.

Gilead responded to the report, stating that new Hepatitis C drugs are cheaper than older treatment plans.

"With the rebates and discounts now in place, the prices today are less than the cost of prior regimens," Gilead said.

The senator announced the findings with Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (R).