France said Thursday it has joined forces with 13 other European countries to negotiate a lower price for a promising new hepatitis C drug that has drawn controversy for its astronomical cost. Sovaldi, made by US pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences, has shown huge potential at helping cure the liver disease but its price - more than 50,000 euros ($68,000) for a 12-week course of treatment - has health authorities concerned.
"If we accept such a high price, firstly we won't be able to treat everyone and we will also be creating a risk for our social security system, which means for other patients," French Health Minister Marisol Touraine said Thursday. She told BFMTV that Sovaldi would cost the country's already heavily-indebted welfare system billions of euros.
"So I launched an initiative... to mobilise all European countries and make sure we join forces to weigh on price negotiations with this US laboratory. "For the first time, 14 European countries have made a commitment together. We will therefore negotiate country by country as that's how it's done, but we will exchange information and discuss things between European countries." Hepatitis C is caused by a virus that can be transmitted through sharing needles, receiving contaminated blood transfusions or having sex with an infected person.
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