As the Hepatitis C Marketing Frenzy Continues, a Reminder Not to Ignore the Evidence

The Hepatitis C Spin Cycle Continues Since our last post in July, 2014, about sofosbuvir (Sovaldi, Gilead), the $1000 pill proclaimed to be a wonder drug for the treatment of hepatitis C, the marketing juggernaut for new antiviral drugs for this condition continues to roll along.For example, I just got a notice to look at a Gilead website which proclaims  HCV can be curedIn October, Gilead got permission so sell Harvoni, a new combination drug that includes sofosbuvir and ledipasvir, hailed as a once daily pill that can cure hepatitis C, for a mere $94,500 for a typical treatment course. (See this article in the Wall Street Journal.) Meanwhile, AbbeVie launched its own antiviral treatment for hepatitis C, Viekira Pak, (ombitasvir, paritaprevir, and ritonavir tablets plus dasabuvir tablets) priced just under sofosbuvir, but still very expensive.  (See this Bloomberg article.)Media coverage of these developments suggests that there is no controversy about the curative, nay lifesaving properties of these new drugs.  For example, a Wall Street Journal article about how Express Scripts will only pay for the slightly less expensive Viekira Pak referred to Sovaldi, Harvoni, and the Viekira Pak as "lifesaving medicines," and later noted, "Both Gilead’s Harvoni and AbbVie’s Viekira Pak have been shown in clinical trials to cure as many as 90% of patients..."Never Mind the Evidence from Clinical Research, or Lack ThereofNearly all cases of hepatitis C can be cured, a...
Source: Health Care Renewal - Category: Health Management Tags: AbbeVie clinical trials evidence-based medicine Gilead marketing Sovaldi Source Type: blogs