Drug price announced for remdesivir – as US buys up world stock

On 29 June 2020, within a week of the first articles speculating on the likely price of remdesivir, Gilead announced a base price. [1]

This will be $520 USD per vial ($3,120 per course) for the US patients with health insurance and high-income countries and $390 per vial ($2,340 per course) for low-income countries.

The immediate implications for wider access in the UK and many other high-income countries is likely to be limited though. On 30 June 2020, it was announced that the majority of future production for at least the next three months had already been secured for the US home market, thanks to a bulk contract negotiated by the US government. [2]

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Strangely, most mainstream media did not mention that the medical urgency for access to life-saving medicines during a health crisis would enable compulsory license. This allows countries to set aside patents in order to access generic versions of these drugs.

1. New York Times. Remdesivir, the first coronavirus drug, gets a price tag. (26 June 2020).

2. US secures world stock of key Covid-19 drug remdesivir. The Guardian, (30 June 2020).

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/30/us-buys-up-world-stock-of-key-covid-19-drug