Gilead, AbbVie rack up new payer deals, but hep C obstacles loom across the Atlantic

Gilead, AbbVie rack up new payer deals, but hep C obstacles loom across the Atlantic
January 20, 2015 | By Tracy Staton

The hepatitis C market is breaking new ground all over the place. As payers put the squeeze on Gilead Sciences ($GILD) and AbbVie ($ABBV) for discounts in the U.S., England's National Health Service is delaying a broad rollout of Gilead's blockbuster Sovaldi till July, citing the drug's high cost--an unprecedented move on a treatment already blessed by the country's cost-effectiveness watchdogs. 

And with AbbVie's cocktail now approved in Europe and the U.K.--under the brand names Viekirax and Exviera, rather than Viekira Pak like in the U.S.--the two drugmakers will be squaring off there in country-by-country negotiations for coverage.

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