Dive Brief:
- After negotiations between Gilead and the French government, a 12-week course of Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) will cost just $51,373 in France, compared with $84,000 in the U.S.
- France has the lowest price points of all of the EU nations for Sovaldi.
- Now that Harvoni (sofosbuvir/ledapasvir) is approved for treatment of hepatitis C (HCV), France is also in the process of trying to negotiate down that drug's price from the current $19,880 per box price.
Dive Insight:
The cost of treating the 200,000 HCV-infected patients in France is $994 million—an astounding figure compared to what other countries have to spend on treatment.
For its part, Gilead has demonstrated flexibility and persistence in its ability to negotiate and defend pricing in different countries. France is currently negotiating a lower price for Harvoni, and will most likely get it.