Pair of Senators Request Information on Pricing of Breakthrough Hepatitis C Drug
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Credit: Architect of the Capitol(WASHINGTON) — A pair of U.S. Senators, in a bipartisan request, have asked why a new Hepatitis C virus drug is so incredibly costly.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and senior Finance Committee member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa requested more details on the pricing of the new drug, Sovaldi. The drug reportedly will cost $84,000 for a standard treatment, but the Food and Drug Administration has speculated that costs could be higher for patients who require longer treatments.
Wyden and Grassley strongly support transparency in health care and have requested more information from the drug’s creator, Gilead Sciences Inc. The company has hailed the breakthrough drug which could help the 3.2 million Americans with Hepatitis C.
The cost of Sovaldi could “dramatically increase federal spending in Medicare and other programs,” a statement on the request said, including health care for prisoners with the disease.
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