COVID-19 drug price deemed 'reasonable'

California's Gilead Sciences announced pricing on Monday for the first drug authorized to treat COVID-19 in the United States, and industry observers did not immediately pass out from sticker shock.

The price range for the drug remdesivir - $3,120 for commercially insured U.S. patients, and $2,340 for government programs here and abroad - was in the neighborhood of the pricing suggestions announced previously by the independent Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) in Boston.

"Gilead's pricing announcement demonstrates restraint and a promising precedent for future drug pricing during a pandemic," ICER President Dr. Steven Pearson said in a statement. "The price is largely in line with ICER's independent assessment suggesting that a price of approximately $2,800 would be reasonable in proportion to the added benefits for patients and the cost offsets in the health system."

https://www.startribune.com/covid-19-drug-price-deemed-reasonable/571551422/