Portugal: Gov't reaches deal for Hepatitis C drug

The Portuguese government has finally reached an agreement with an American pharmaceutical firm to bring an innovative drug to treat Hepatitis C to Portugal. 

The deal comes one year after the drug from Gilead Sciences reached Europe.

According to reports the Ministry of Health and national drugs watchdog Infarmed managed to negotiated a price that will enable more patients to be treated for less than €25,000 per treatment.

Newspaper Público reports that the plan is to treat between 10,000 and 12,000 patients with the new drug over the next three years.

Source: http://theportugalnews.com/news/govt-reaches-deal-for-hepatitis-c-drug/33932

Anthem selects Gilead as primary supplier of hepatitis C drugs

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Health insurer Anthem Inc on Thursday said it reached a deal under which Gilead Sciences Inc's hepatitis C drug Harvoni will be the primary treatment for patients infected with the most common strain of the liver-destroying virus.

Anthem said the deal effectively lowers its hepatitis C treatment costs. "We were able to achieve a very competitive rate and a freeze on retail pricing for 2015," the insurer said in an emailed statement. "That does favorably impact plan costs for 2015."

Read more...