Gilead Sciences: Pharmaceutical Prices, Patents, And The FDA

Gilead Sciences: Pharmaceutical Prices, Patents, And The FDA by Timothy D. Terrell, Mises Institute

In this article by economist Jeffrey Sachs, pharmaceutical company Gilead is taken to task for selling its hepatitis C cure, Sofosbuvir (sold as Sovaldi), at a price of $84,000 per course of treatment. Sachs says that the actual production cost of Sofosbuvir is about $100.

Sachs says that Gilead is “bilking the taxpayer” by charging the government prices far above production costs — and government is probably paying for most of the Sofosbuvir drugs. Sachs further complains that people will die because of Gilead’s refusal to cut the price to something more affordable.

Gilead, Sachs says, bought the patent rights to Sofosbuvir for $11 billion...