It will cost patients under Medicare and Medical as well as those covered by private health insurance 33% more at $3,120 or $520 per vial for the same treatment course.
The bipartisan coalition stated, “It is unfortunate that Gilead has chosen to place its profit margins over the interests of Americans suffering in this pandemic … If Americans who need Remdesivir find themselves unable to afford a treatment course, then federal agencies have sufficient reason to require Gilead to ‘license both the background patents and the patents stemming from the contract work’ under the Bayh-Dole Act.”
In a statement, AG Becerra said, “During this unprecedented crisis, we must use every possible resource and tool available to save the lives of Americans who are falling ill from COVID-19. With coronavirus cases rising across the nation, our leaders must step up and do what is best for the people. We cannot afford to leave the supply of this critical medication to chance and the whims of the marketplace when it was funded in part by taxpayer dollars.”
