#Coronavirus drug remdesivir to run $3,120 for patients with private insurance

Enlarge Image

A lab technician holds the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment drug Remdesivir at Eva Pharma Facility in Cairo, Egypt.
REUTERS

Coronavirus drug remdesivir will cost $3,120 for the typical patient with private health insurance, the drugmaker said.

Gilead Sciences announced Monday that the antiviral drug will cost hospitals about $520 per dose for privately insured patients, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The shorter, more common course of treatment would work out to $3,120, while the longer duration would cost $5,720, the report said.

The drugmaker will offer a discounted rate to health programs like Medicare and the governments of developed countries, the outlet reported.

That rate will be $390 per dose, or $2,340 per patient for the shortest duration of treatment and $4,290 for the longer course, the report said.

Gilead Chief Executive Daniel O’Day said the US government will receive a discounted rate since programs such as Medicaid typically receive statutorily-authorized markdowns.

The drug is expected to reduce hospital costs by $12,000 per patient, he said.

“This medicine is priced far below the value it brings to healthcare systems and that’s true for private payers and government payers,” O’Day told the Wall Street Journal.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved remdesivir as a treatment but granted the drug emergency use authorization in May.

Researchers have found that remdesivir can speed up recovery in patients infected with COVID-19.