Express Scripts Pushes Price Competition for Gilead Drug
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The biggest U.S. drug benefits manager plans to start a price war over a new generation of hepatitis C treatments that will cost $1,000 a pill, in a bid to drive down spending on the medicines.
Express Scripts Holding Co. will pit Gilead Sciences Inc. against AbbVie Inc. and other drugmakers when the new treatments come to market next year or early in 2015. The new hepatitis C pills are projected to be among the biggest pharmaceutical sellers ever. While Gilead’s once-a-day drug may be the easiest to use, Express Scripts might block the pill from reimbursement if the competitors accept lower pricing.