This archive report was first published on 30 June 2020.
On June 29, 2020, Gilead Sciences announced the pricing for its COVID-19 drug remdesivir, which has been granted emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The company set a price of $390 (Ksh. 41,523) per vial for the US government, including Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense hospitals, and other governments of developed countries.
However, the discounted price does not include Medicare or Medicaid.
A typical five-day treatment course would include six vials, totaling $2,340 (Ksh. 249,139) per patient, according to Daniel O'Day, Gilead Sciences chairman and CEO.
The US government will continue to manage US allocations of remdesivir to hospitals through September, the company said.
For private insurance companies, the price will be $520 (Ksh. 55,364) per vial, totaling $3,120 per patient for a five-day treatment course of six vials.
Remdesivir is the only drug with an emergency use authorization from the US FDA to treat coronavirus infections.
Until now, remdesivir treatments had been donated to the US government and allocated by the US Department of Health and Human Services and states.
However, the US government's last scheduled shipments of that donation are going out today.
According to HHS, hospitals will receive remdesivir shipments and pay no more than Gilead's wholesale acquisition price, which amounts to approximately $3,200 per treatment course.
Shipments will likely occur every two weeks, and the delivery of the purchased remdesivir will be streamlined, going directly to the hospital, per the state's allocation decision.
