Natco Pharma Ltd., a mid-sized pharmaceutical company in India, has made a deal with Gilead Sciences to produce generic versions of Gilead’s newest hepatitis C virus (HCV) medications, and will be able to distribute those meds in 91 developing countries, Reuters reports.
This is the latest deal Gilead has made with a foreign drug manufacturer to help increase global access for its new hep C treatments. The deal includes a generic license for Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), the combo pill Harvoni (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir) and a treatment called GS-5816, which is currently in late-stage clinical trials.
In September 2013, Gilead made similar licensing deals with seven other generic drug manufacturers. The deals allow these drug makers to set their own price for generic versions of the pills and pay a royalty on those sales to Gilead.
Originally, Natco tried to block the U.S. drug company from getting a patent for Sovaldi in India entirely, hoping that it could produce the drug on its own. Despite making the deal, the Indian firm claims it will continue to fight Gilead’s patent in order to push HCV drug prices down even further.
Sovaldi costs $1,000 a pill or roughly $84,000 for a 12-week course of treatment in the United States. Even at a substantial discount, Sovaldi costs up to 20 percent of the average annual income in India.
Indian Drugmaker Natco to Make Generic Hepatitis C Treatments
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