Sovaldi - Attacking the Patent System for Pricing Issues Is a Non-Starter

Sovaldi - Attacking the Patent System for Pricing Issues Is a Non-Starter

Mar 4th, 2015
by Richard Bergström

Gilead Sciences’ hepatitis C treatment, Sovaldi, has been a regular feature in healthcare news of late, not least because it offers that most elusive of gifts: a cure. There has been much discussion about its price, but also a recognition of the value that this drug offers to society. If a patient is successfully treated with Sovaldi, ongoing treatment costs are nullified, including significant expenditure on care, and that patient may return to work delivering further economic benefits to society.

However, on 10 February, Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World – MdM) filed a challenge against the patent for Gilead’s drug. The NGO maintained that while the medicine clearly represented a real breakthrough in the treatment of hepatitis C, it was not innovative enough to warrant a patent, particularly at the price that Gilead was charging. MdM argues that if they win the patent challenge, this would open the gates for generic companies to enter the field, copy the drug and sell it for a considerably lower price.

Continue reading...