May 25, 2011

Fair Pricing Coalition Says Vertex’s Incivek Price 'Outrageous'

The Fair Pricing Coalition is again sounding the alarm regarding the price of newly approved treatments for hepatitis C, this time questioning the cost of Vertex’s protease inhibitor Incivek (telaprevir). The advocacy group is concerned that Incivek’s price tag of $49,200 per 12-week course will adversely affect the ability of people with HCV to access the drug, while also setting an excessively unreasonable future price point for the many hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs in the pipeline.

“Merck’s Victrelis costs $48,400 for 48 weeks of treatment,” said FPC member Lynda Dee in a statement from the organization. “Now Vertex has set a price approximately four times greater than Victrelis for 12 weeks of Incivek treatment. While we welcome a shorter course of Incivek treatment, both price points are outrageous. What is worse, you can bet that no future HCV drugs will be priced less than Victrelis and Incivek. What a terrible way to begin!”

According to FDA labeling for Incivek, approved May 23, the drug should be taken for 12 weeks with either 24 or 48 weeks of pegylated interferon and ribavirin, depending on a patient’s response to the regimen. The wholesale price for 48 weeks of HCV treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin is about $30,000. The $49,200 WAC price for 12 weeks of Incivek, the FPC wrote, “will more than double the already exorbitant 48 week price” of hepatitis C treatment.

“Although the addition of Incivek to pegylated interferon and ribavirin should significantly increase the HCV cure rate, it will be impossible to sustain these prices in light of the current U.S. health care crisis,” Dee said.

“The HCV community is anxiously awaiting interferon-sparing regimens because of the terrible side effects caused by interferon as well as ribavirin,” said FPC member Murray Penner. “An encouraging number of these drugs are currently in development. It will take three and maybe even four of these new drugs in a combination regimen to effectively cure HCV in the future. Future HCV drugs will invariably be more expensive than Victrelis and Incivek.

“If each of the new drugs costs $50,000, we are looking at regimens that will ultimately cost between $150,000 and $200,000 in the very near future. This is unsustainable and will unacceptably limit access to the regimens.”

Other costs need to be considered as well, the FPC states. According to a paper presented at the annual conference of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the costs of treating the side effects of HCV protease inhibitors such as Victrelis are expected to be 30 percent higher than for existing treatments. And many of those with hepatitis C suffer from other illnesses. Some have diabetes or bleeding disorders; others are coinfected with HIV. All of these add completely new sets of medical expenses.

“We were very disappointed by the cost set by Merck for Victrelis earlier this month. Our fears about Vertex’s price for Incivek have now unfortunately come to pass,” Dee said. “How will this all end? We fear it will end in a lack of patient access to promising new HCV treatments that will result in morbidity and mortality for hundreds of thousands of Americans.

“Both Merck and Vertex have pledged to make their new drugs available to patients who cannot afford these exorbitant prices through their co-pay and patient assistance programs (PAP). Vertex’s PAP is particularly generous,” Dee pointed out. “The FPC will continue to advocate for people with HCV to ensure that both companies keep their word. We have kept a tight watch on HIV drug manufacturers in this regard. We intend to do the same thing in the viral hepatitis arena.”

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Previous Comments:

larry, plover, 2011-08-09 22:03:59
Hi, my name is Larry and I have chronic Hep C, I did a treatment aprox 6 yrs ago and it did not work and now my doctor wants me to go on this new tratment. I at first was denied and now through the apeal process I am approved, even though that I am approved I still need to make a decision if I will go on this treatment as I still will have to pay the co-pay. It is sad how much this new med is not alone the 2 other meds. People wonder why patients go to mexico or canada for meds.

EJS, Richardson, TX, 2011-07-14 12:35:09
Started the "triple" theraphy a little over a week ago, so far so good. With insurance my co-pays for the 3 (Incivek, Pegasys & Ribavirin) are costing me $205., monthly. I do consider myself lucky to have the insurance, sad for those who don't have it and need these meds...

Robert, Chapel Hill, 2011-06-30 23:39:13
Joseph... Before making non-sense remarks, read the public income statements available from the SEC. Vertex has lost just under $4 BILLION since 1989 (founded). Vertex has spent only its own money on all R$D - ZERO government (FIH as you wrongly suggested) money. Lastly, Vertex has received ZERO tax breaks, as it leases property. Do a little research yourself before spouting what you don't know. PS The price is set based on overall health costs associated with Hep C as explained by Diane.

Joseph, Los aNGELES, 2011-06-21 13:57:27
regarding the misguided comment from Diane NYC abouut the cost incurred by Pharma for research and development of new drug therapies, much of the cost is compensated for through tax write-offs and much of the research is done through the NIH paid for by taxpapers. The pharmaceutical industry has has had record profits in the billions. Please spare me any sympathy for them. My sympathy is with those that need these therapies to stay alive.

zoom, , 2011-06-15 14:14:57
Outrageous...there are 200mil people infected around the world... they really want to cash in 10 trillion on it??? This is not medicine... I just hope Asian countries will start producing it at low cost for those who cannot afford the brand name

Ron,, Fairfield Ca., 2011-06-05 11:43:05
Hey Diane, NYC. I agree with you in concept but not everybody has $49K+ in the bank to plop down for the "one time treatment" I myself could NEVER afford it. I am lucky so far as My viral load is undetectable. I see that you live in NYC so maybe you do have that kind of $. Hope you don't have HCV and have to spend it on treatment.

martyg, , 2011-06-04 22:19:39
dr kervorkian just died of hepatitis "c" infection about 3 days ago. if they discovered the cure earlier he might still be alive although many would not wish that. vertex was founded about 20 years ago and has lost money virtually every year since and put their life's blood & sweat into the project. let obama come up with the money. about 3 million usa citizens could be of benefit.

bobexbiker, Phillipsburg 08865, 2011-06-03 17:07:31
I have been waiting 2yrs for these drugs to be appoved and now the companies are going to distroy r lives with the cost will die either way thanks greedy corpoate souls may God have mercy on you.

LILMAMA, Lubbock, 2011-06-03 16:21:06
PLEASE, PLEASE, KEEP ADVOCATING FOR US. I FAILED FIRST TREATMENT, HAVE DEVELOPED SOME LIVER DAMAGE, AND REALLY NEED THIS NEW TREATMENT IF I AM TO SURVIVE. I AM ONLY 52, AND HAVE GRANDCHILDREN COUNTING ON ME BEING AROUND FOR A WHILE... THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO!!!

Mark Dragavon, Oak Harbor, WA, 2011-06-03 13:21:13
Totally ludicrous...once again, the pharmacy corporations are "sticking it to us!

Rock'nRoll Scientist, CAMBORNE, 2011-05-28 11:00:07
Price is very high in order to retrieve investment, as both drugs along with interferon will be obsolete within 5 years as the all oral solution becomes the soc, and the comprehensive cure. Put simply they know they are selling on borrowed time to some people who are living on it. I still feel the price is unethical, and may prove to be uneconomical for the pharma's.

karin, Los Angeles, 2011-05-27 08:24:52
i am one of those whose body cannot tolerate interferon and ribaviran i tried twice before. and i wait and wait for something that doesn't need to be taken with it and now I am 63. I want to be able to beat this. I wait. I have had it for over 32 yrs. before they even knew it was a disease. and I wait.

Habib, ISLAMABAD, 2011-05-27 08:20:13
As retired GoPakistan official my pension is barely enough to run my kitchen. How do I treat my HCV? I cannot imagine to have US$ 50K to treat my HCV. Good job done by scientist but terrible when it is out of reach for a normal citizen

Ry1, Boston, 2011-05-26 14:25:09
Actually if patients are on 24 weeks of triple therapy with Merck the cost is 22,00 less than Vertex and most patients will be able to be on 32 weeks of Victrelis which is 14000-17000 less than Vertex drug.

Bob Smith, Cambridge, MA, 2011-05-26 13:35:10
I agree with the previous comment I work in the health care field, and while I wish life saving drugs could be free for all, the simple truth is that if companies know they can't make a substantial profit then they won't try to make the drugs. If you read any of the financial statements you will see Vertex spent hundreds of millions of dollars to develop and test Incivek alone. The profit doesn't just line pockets. It pays the bills, employees, and funds the R&D for even better drugs.