A California medical panel has lambasted Gilead Sciences for its exorbitant, $1,000-a-pill pricing of Sovaldi, which adds up to $84,000 for a typical 12-week course. In March, the California Technology Assessment Forum brought together medical experts from around the state to weigh in on the new hep C meds. The group has asserted that Sovaldi and the Janssen drug Olysio are likely superior to the older treatment options, but that the new drugs represent a “low value.” Consequently, the medical experts asserted that only those with more advanced liver disease but without major complications should undergo treatment with Sovaldi or Olysio at this time. The forum estimated that supplanting older hep C therapies with Sovaldi would yield an extra $18 billion to $29 billion in annual costs for both government and private insurers.