Called the ASCEND study, about 600 traditionally underserved patients will be treated with Gilead's Harvoni, a Hepatitis C medication released last year which made headlines for its ability to cure the liver disease— and its breathtaking cost. The study is a partnership between the NIH and the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland, the Family and Medical Counseling Services Inc. and Unity Health Care.
"It's roughy $1,100 a pill. It's unbelievable," said Vincent Keane, president and CEO of nonprofit Unity Health Care, which will be treating patients as part of the study. Hepatitis C is a lifelong illness which can lead to serious liver disease, cirrhosis and cancer. Patients sometimes need dialysis and liver transplants. "This disease is extremely debilitating to the patient and it's very costly to the healthcare system," Keane said.
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3 comments:
And $50 a pill in African nations.It will be less everywhere else on Earth than in North America.
Still cheaper than the cost of hospitalization for those without access to the pill.
being done to DC residents for a reason.. DC is not incorporated as a part of the USA
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