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Merck Freezes Integrase Isentress (raltegravir) Price
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Reported by Jules Levin
Merck has decided to freeze the price for ADAP programs of ISENTRESS at its launch price until the end of 2010. Merck said "the hope is that this action, along with the programs already in place, will allow greater access to ISENTRESS for patients in need". Merck sent a letter on Aug 1, 2008 to Martin Delaney and the the Fair Pricing Coalition to report this new information.
This continues a recent trend in pricing for HIV ART medications. Merck's action to temper the prices of their HIV meds comes on the heels of recently Tibotec also limiting their price and Gilead and Boerhinger Ingelheim announcing price freezes. Community advocates express gratitude for the companies price freezes, as well ADAP programs are pleased. I think the Federal government has a much higher responsibility to ante up for HIV drugs and the government should be pressured more. What does this all mean? One could say HIV drug pricing is sensitive to community pressure, the advocacy community has more influence in HIV than in any other disease. Companies feel it is important to be responsive to the advocacy community, and they think it is the right thing to do. It is very difficult to really understand if there are a unique set of barriers in HIV that negatively affects new drug development or prevents new drug companies or biotechs from getting into HIV; does drug patent concerns discourage companies from developing HIV drugs? I can only speculate. Does tempering down drug prices limit new HIV drug development and companies from entering into HIV drug development? Globally the price of ART drugs affects access, this is clear. We have about 20 HIV ART drugs. I think t is imperative to develop more effective drugs; drugs for patients with resistance; new classes of HIV drugs; more convenient, potent, safer, and tolerable drugs. I certainly hope a commitment is maintained to develop new HIV drugs. But there are some in the field who say we have enough drugs, this is ridiculous.
In the letter Merck said "it is highly committed to ensuring access of our antiretroviral medications to people living with HIV, merck has a history of working closely with leaders from the HIV community to ensure our approach to pricing our medications is fair and reasonable, balancing Merck's need to continue conducting extensive HIV research while supporting broad access to our medications. As you know, when we launched our protease inhibitor Crixivan we priced it below the other available protease inhibitors. We were also the first company to provide a price freeze to the unique AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP) when they suffered through an earlier funding challenge in the late 1990s......we priced Isentress to provide the cost-neutrality requested by those managing these flat-funded ADAP programs. This approach was taken despite significant innovation and investment associated with discovering and developing Isentress - integrase research has been ongoing at Merck since 1993 - and has finally enabled integrase inhibition for people living with HIV. Today, it appears likely that ADAP, a unique fixed-funded program, will once again experience a flat federal budget in the coming years. There, Merck has decided to freeze the price for ADAP programs of Isentress at its launch price until Dec 31, 2010. We feel this decision to freeze the price for ADAP programs of Isentress is appropriate given the very unique nature of ADAP, and that doing so is consistent with Merck's commitment to HIV."
Merck went on to say in the letter about their Patient Assistance Program: our commitment to patient access is also evidenced by our HIV patient assistance program called SUUPORT, which provides our HIV medicines free of charge to eligible patients, including eligible patients whose co-payments exceed $50 per prescription. Patients meeting eligibility criteria can receive reimbursement support (e.g., assistance accessing coverage) and same-day access to medicines. More information about the SUPPORT Program can be obtained by calling 800-850-3430 or at www.isentress.com."
Gilead, Boehringer Freeze Prices on AIDS Drugs to U.S. Agencies
By John Lauerman
Excerpts:
June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Gilead Sciences Inc. and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH will freeze prices on their AIDS drugs for certain government agencies in the U.S., a patient treatment and advocacy group said today.
Gilead, maker of the AIDS pill Truvada, will suspend price increases to three U.S. and state government agencies through Dec. 31, 2010. Boehringer, the world's largest family owned drugmaker, will freeze the price of its drug Aptivus for state AIDS programs through May 1, 2009, the Los Angeles-based foundation said in an e-mail today.
About 3 million patients in low- and middle-income countries are getting effective AIDS treatment today, about one- third more than in 2006, the Geneva-based World Health Organization said yesterday. About 33 million people worldwide are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, that causes AIDS, according to the WHO.
Gilead of Foster City, California, will freeze prices on all its AIDS drugs -- Viread, Truvada and Emtriva -- for the U.S. Public Health Service, the Federal Supply Service, and the state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, said Amy Flood, a company spokeswoman. Worldwide sales of Gilead's AIDS drugs last year totaled $3.14 billion, she said.
The wholesale acquisition cost, the price paid by drug wholesalers, of Gilead's Viread is $552 a month, $329 a month for Emtriva, and $840 a month for Truvada, Flood said. Government purchasers generally get partial rebates from these prices, she said.
Boehringer of Ingelheim, Germany, has already reduced the price of its drug Viramune to 60 cents a day in 78 low-income countries, and $1.20 a day in 67 middle-income countries, officials said in a letter to the foundation. The price freeze on Aptivus will apply to sales to state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, and became effective May 1, the letter said.
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