COVID-19: Remdesivir to cost Nigeria, others N1m per patient

Remdesivir is at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 after it helped shorten hospital recovery times in a trial.

Gilead Sciences Inc has priced its COVID-19 drug candidate Remdesivir at $2,340 for a five-day treatment in the United States and some other developed countries, potentially reflecting looming competition from a cheap steroid.

According to reports, the price tag is below the $5,080 per course recommendation by the US drug pricing research group, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), last week.

However, it could be potentially available between $2,520-2,800; depending on if the cheap alternative, dexamethasone, which is not patent-protected, is cleared for use in COVID-19.

Remdesivir is at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 after the anti-viral treatment helped shorten hospital recovery times in a clinical trial. It has been approved for emergency use in some patients in the US.

But dexamethasone has since been hailed as a potential breakthrough treatment.

The remdesivir price for US private insurance companies will be $520 a vial, Gilead said, which equates to $3,120 for every patient for a treatment course of six vials.

The per-vial price outside of private insurance will be $390, Gilead added.

Meanwhile, Gilead has entered into an agreement with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with the agency and states set to manage allocation to hospitals until the end of September.

HHS has secured more than 500,000 treatment courses of the drug for US hospitals through September, the agency said on Monday, June 29.

After this, once supplies are less constrained, HHS will stop managing the allocation, Gilead said.

Remdesivir’s price has been a topic of intense debate since US regulators approved its emergency use in some COVID-19 patients in May.

Experts have said Gilead would need to avoid appearing to take advantage of a health crisis for profits.

The European Union’s healthcare regulator last week recommended conditional approval of the drug when used in the critically ill. The formal go-ahead by the European Commission is expected to follow soon.

Gilead has linked up with generic drugmakers based in India and Pakistan, including Cipla Ltd and Hetero Labs Ltd, to make and supply remdesivir in 127 developing countries.