A true vaccine for COVID-19 is still at least a year away. And the “miracle cure” hydroxychloroquine, hyped by President Trump, turned out to be useless if not harmful.
But drugs that actually can treat the symptoms of the virus are now available. Dexamethasone is “a cheap, widely available steroid” that can help keep severe COVID-19 patients alive, though it “may be risky for patients with milder illness,” reports the New York Times.
And Remdesivir, a drug that can help accelerate treatment and reduce hospital stays, has just hit the market - but it’s far from cheap.
Gilead recently released its pricing plans for Remdesivir, a drug originally intended to treat hepatitis C. It was unsuccessful in that regard, but has been repurposed: a single 5-day course of the drug has been shown to reduce COVID-19 hospital stays by up to four days.
Remdesivir will cost more than $3,000 for patients with health insurance.
That’s “an outrageous price for a very modest drug,” said Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett, quoted in the Wall Street Journal. “Taxpayers will be charged billions more for the same medications that they have already paid significantly for drugmakers to develop.”
His comments echoed many Gilead critics, who point to the fact that drugs like these are often funded in part by taxpayer-funded government labs and universities. At least $70 million in taxpayer dollars went toward Remdesivir’s research.
The United States is the only country to pay so much for the drug - about 33% higher than others - because every other country negotiates prices directly with drug companies. Our for-profit health system does not allow this.
Critics such as Sen. Bernie Sanders have argued that during a global public health crisis, the drug should be free - or at least priced affordably for low-income and uninsured Americans.
Instead, Gilead will make billions selling the drug.
“For $1 per day, remdesivir can be manufactured at scale with a reasonable profit,” argues Peter Maybarduk, the Director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines Program.
He references a study by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, which estimates Gilead could easily profit by charging only $310 for the drug - about 10% of what they are actually planning to charge.
“Remdesivir sales could reach $2.3 billion this year, of which about $1.3 billion would be profit,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
While patients won’t pay most of that cost up front - insurance companies will - taxpayers will eventually foot the bill because of how our system works.
The more insurance companies and government programs have to pay Gilead for the drug, the higher insurance premiums and taxes we then pay in order to compensate them.
Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day is paid around $20 million per year.