The most anticipated product of 2020, the drug against COVID-19, now has a price. After months of trials, Gilead’s Remdesivir will be available for purchases by hospitals at $3,120 per patient who has commercial insurance.
According to data from the company, the patients will receive six vials on treatment in five days, while the 10-day treatment will consist of 11 vials, which bring the total to $4,290 and $5,720 for privately insured people. It could save hospitals roughly $12,000 per patient since they can discharge earlier.
Starting July, the drug is available for sale, after the US government received doses after the drug obtained the emergency use authorization in May.
The price will differ from the level of development of the countries to governmental programs and private insurers. The "developed countries" will have to pay $390 per vial, while the US private insurance companies will be able to buy it at $520 per vial. According to an official from the Department of Health and Human Services, the uninsured individuals will go under the CARES Act.
For the emerging countries, Gilead is in talks with the generic manufacturers to provide the drug at a "substantially lower cost."
Gilead’s stock price went up 4% after the announcement.
But not everyone had Gilead’s luck in increasing the stock value. Shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals lost 10.8% during today's pre-market session after posting positive data about a COVID-19 vaccine considered safe and well-tolerated by all Phase 1 clinical trial participants. According to it, 94% of 36 participants showed an "immunological response and T cell immune responses." The adverse effects weren't significant – just redness where the vaccine entered the body.
The second phase of the trial is to start this summer.
Overall, the stock price gained more than 860%, while USA500 lost 5.5% since the beginning of the year.
Sources: cnbc.com, marketwatch.com, markets.businessinsider.com