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gilead-sciences

New AbbVie hepatitis C regimen shows high cure rates: studies

An experimental once-daily combination hepatitis C treatment being developed by AbbVie Inc demonstrated very high cure rates across a wide range of disease genotypes, according to data presented on Saturday, likely giving the company a more competitive product if approved. Cure rates of 97 percent to 100 percent over either eight or 12 weeks of treatment were achieved in the clinical trials with the one pill, once-a-day combination of ABT-493 and ABT-530, which use different methods to block virus replication. The combination would provide greater convenience for a wider variety of patients than AbbVie's Viekira Pak, improving chances of making inroads into the market domination currently enjoyed by Gilead Sciences Inc. Viekira Pak, which is approved for genotype 1, the most common form of the serious liver disease in the United States, consists of four drugs and involves taking three pills in the morning and one in the evening.

Aetna backs Gilead’s hepatitis C treatment and gets discount

Aetna Inc, the third-largest U.S. health insurer, said it has negotiated a discount with Gilead Sciences Inc for its hepatitis C treatment and will offer it as the preferred choice to its nearly 20 million commercial customers. Aetna, which posted an updated coverage policy on its website on Friday, said in a statement that it believes its price is “competitive with other recently announced agreements for this class of therapy.” Aetna and other insurers have pushed back against the high price of hepatitis C treatments and other drugs, questioning their affordability after Gilead’s first drug, Sovaldi, was priced at $84,000 per treatment, or roughly $1,000 per pill, in late 2013. Since that approval, AbbVie and Gilead have given discounts to their list prices of 30 percent or more, according to analysts.