Why Talk Of A Hepatitis C Price War Should Act As A Warning To The Pharma Industry-At-Large

Why Talk Of A Hepatitis C Price War Should Act As A Warning To The Pharma Industry-At-Large

 Simon King, Contributor

Bloomberg Bloomberg reporter Drew Armstrong may have broken one of the most important pharmaceutical news stories of the year on Tuesday when he revealed that a leading US pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) is to take an aggressive stance towards the pricing of new hepatitis C therapies.

The crux of the story is that Express Scripts ESRX -0.58% will not view the convenience of Gilead Sciences' GILD -2.11% proposed single-tablet, fixed-dose combination treatment – due to be approved in late 2014/early 2015 – as an adequate justification for higher pricing versus less convenient therapies (i.e. more tablets) that deliverer a similar level of efficacy.

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