Remdesivir gets a price

After a long wait, Gilead Sciences has set a price for remdesivir, the first medicine shown to work against Covid-19. Now the debate over whether that price is fair can begin.

For all governments in the developed world, including the U.S. government’s Medicaid program and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Gilead will charge $2,340 for a five-day course. U.S. insurers will pay 33% more, or $3,120. Countries in the developing world will get the drug at greatly reduced prices through generic manufacturers to which Gilead has licensed production.

There has been speculation about the price for months, with the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review offering up arguments for a price anywhere between $10 and $5,080, and some Wall Street analysts making their own estimates.

“We spent a lot of time and considerable care and discussion about how to approach the pricing of this medicine,” Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day told STAT. “At this price it’s significantly below the value it brings to patients and to society. There is no doubt of that in my mind.”