Drug’s hefty price tag ignores major investment from federal taxpayers

On June 29, Gilead announced the price tag per treatment of remdesivir, a drug repurposed for treatment of COVID-19.

The total cost? $3,120

That’s with insurance.

Stat News reports that a spokesperson for the drug maker justified the high price by estimating that Gilead’s expected investment in developing and manufacturing remdesivir was $1 billion. However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agency, National Institutes of Health, invested as much as $6.5 billion between 2000 and 2019 for the chemical structure and molecular target of this drug.

Ekaterina Cleary, the lead data analyst for Bentley University’s Center for Integration of Science and Industry, argues that the huge dollar payday drugmakers are expecting do not account for the enormous investments made by government agencies such as NIH.

Does this issue sound familiar?

It should, because we’ve been asking the Voices community to sign our petition for limits on the cost of prescription drugs when their tax dollars paid for the drugs’ development.

Without serious action, patients around the country will continue to face the difficult decision of whether to pay for treatments, groceries, rent or other bills.

If you think something should be done about rising prescription drug costs, sign our petition! And as always, continue to share your thoughts with Voices for Affordable Health.