A 30-member panel of doctors and health experts will, for the first time, address the cost effectiveness of hepatitis C drugs in updated guidelines that may change prescribing and coverage for the medicines, Bloomberg News reports. The panel is a joint effort by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which together represent more than 10,000 physicians, health workers and scientists. ”The panel will explicitly consider cost and cost- effectiveness,” says Benjamin Linas, a panel member and physician.
Meanwhile, the U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence endorsed Harvoni, the newest Gilead Sciences GILD -1.00% treatment for hepatitis C, for use on the state health service in the U.K., where it costs significantly less than in the U.S., according to Reuters. Harvoni, which combines Gilead’s drug Sovaldi with another of its anti-viral medicines into a daily pill, is priced at $58,400 for a 12-week treatment course – a third less than in the U.S. And PMLive notes that, unlike Sovaldi, Harvoni will not face a funding delay in the U.K.
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