Canada - With hep C, no province is an island

With hep C, no province is an island
André Picard 

The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Feb. 24 2015, 3:00 AM EST

So far, PEI has committed to spend $1.6-million a year for three years to purchase a drug combo called Holkira Pak, a product of AbbVie Canada with a list price of $55,860.

About 400 Islanders are infected with HCV, including 60 in the advanced stages of the disease, which suggests that PEI is getting the drug at a deep discount – about $25,000.

This will put intense pressure on the other main producer of the new generation HCV drugs, Gilead Sciences Inc., to discount its product, known as Harvoni. Its list price is roughly $67,000.

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