Incivek triple Tx $150K-$200K

[Aaron57]

We have seen outrage at the new prices charged by Vertex/Merck upon their release ... with a Total Cost of triple Tx possibly reaching $150,000 - $200,000..

“If each of the new drugs costs $50,000, we are looking at regimens that will ultimately cost between $150,000 and $200,000 in the very near future. This is unsustainable and will unacceptably limit access to the regimens.”

http://fairpricingcoalition.org/

The first data is in to see profit/revenue 2011 projections  ...

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11167585/1/vertex-tops-merck-in-early-hep-c-drug-launch.html

Someone here mentioned Vertex HAD to share marketing rights because they are such a small company they could not proceed with R&D if they did not take that initiative ...

Vertex market value is $10 Billion Dollars .. with Cash Holdings of $820,000,000

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/cambridge/articles/2011/05/03/vertex_pharmaceuticals_takes_bigger_1q_loss/

http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/VRTX/0x0x464481/5f9f8443-2e12-44e8-b7ee-75590ee6018e/VRTX_News_2011_5_3_Webcasts.pdf

"Even with a depressed stock price, Vertex carries a $10 billion market valuation, which illustrates quite well investors' high expectations for a successful Incivek launch. Vertex is counting on Incivek to carry the company to profitability for the first time. Merck, on the other hand, isn't as reliant on Victrelis financially."

"The current consensus 2011 sales forecast for Incivek is $490 million, according to the sell-side analysts who cover Vertex. Buyside investors are expecting more. A survey of 188 investors in early June yielded a 2011 consensus sales estimate of $568 million, including $43 million in the second quarter that ends June 30, according to ISI Group biotech analyst Mark Schoenebaum, who conducted the survey."

So how much is Vertex R&D investment/expenses ??

"Vertex's research and development costs edged up 11 percent to $158.6 million as it continued other studies of Incivek and other drug candidates, including its cystic fibrosis treatment VX-770.Its sales costs doubled to $71.5 million as it prepared for the potential launch of Incivek."

Seems to me they will enter profitability in short order as a result of Incivek ... for those unfortunate HCV infected that do not have adequate health insurance to cover Tx .... apx 70% of HCV infected (not necessarily G1)

Apx 35% of HCV infected have health insurance that will cover anti-viral Tx ....

http://www.hepmag.com/articles/HCV_Insurance_Access_2501_20127.shtml

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-lack-health-limits-hepatitis-patients.html

Insurance was even less prevalent among people living with HCV who qualified medically for treatment. Approximately 67 percent of the study population had experienced HCV disease progression to the point where treatment becomes necessary, yet only 36.3 percent of them had insurance coverage to pay for care.


It will be very interesting to see if these companies actually live up to their promise of supplying their products to All those who's earnings are less than $100,000 per year with the "Patient Assistance Program (PAP)"

From the apx. 3.5 million infected in the US alone ... how many of those make more than $100k per year & carry insurance which would cover new Tx ? How many don't have "Medical Issues" that would not qualify them for the PAP ?
What Is the Medical Criteria for PAP acceptance , does anyone know ?

[AnotherJourney]

My first biopsy said stage 2, my last one said stage 1, probably somewhere between the two. Most clinicals are looking for treatment naive folks, or of course the risk of doing the peg & riba with a placebo...but good idea, I will take another look

[Aaron57]

So sorry to hear about your situation .. do you have an idea how your liver condition is at this time ?
Would a Clinical Trial be an option in your area ?

[AnotherJourney]

Thx..yes, I previously treated and was a slow responder and am a CT Allele, and so I have waited for some time for the triple therapy .... needless to say, I am extremely discouraged.

[Aaron57]

Perhaps you might want to consider having the IL28b allele testing at Labcorp to see which genotype you are ... Interleukin 28B (IL28B) Polymorphism (rs12979860)

If you happen to have the CC allele the P/R (peg/riba) Tx regime gives about as good odds of clearing as the triple tx for allot less investment ... even with the CT allele there is still about a 50% odds of achieving SVR ... actually higher odds than 50% if you happen to have a fast response to Inf ... just because you can't afford the triple tx doesn't mean you are out of options !


Good luck

[AnotherJourney]

Let me say that I am fortunate in that I have insurance and I make just over 100K/ However, my insurance company, which is one of the largest insurers in the US, has made Incivek a non-prefered drug with a 50% copay. That means my monthly cost is $8156 for the Incivek alone. Multiply that times 3 months and my out of pocket is over $24,000. Even with Vertex copay help, that comes to $14000 OOP, making Incivek too expensive for me to treat.

[frijole]

I think most of us will have insurance and pay a copay -- the highest, to be sure, but still a copay.  I understand Vertex is not only offering assistance for those without insurance but they even have a program to help with copays for those who do.

The Incivek website is here and you can contact there assistance here:
http://www.incivek.com/
Vertex Guidance & Patient Support (GPS)
Financial Services
24/7 Nurse Support
Reimbursement Form for Healthcare Professionals
Call 1-855NoSkype-VERTEX-GPS (1-855NoSkype-837-8394)

When I treated with SOC I ran the numbers -- what it cost to treat in total, and what it cost me.  The total cost was about $66,000 for the medicine alone  (which included Procrit and Neupogen) --- this did not include labs or biopsy or doctors appointments.  My cost was about $4000 and that included the biopsy and the medicines.  So if you add another $50,000 for the PI that does add to about $116,000.  Still I think the cost is to the insuance companies and most individuals will not bear that cost.

It is all a lot of money and I hope this does not deter those without insurance.

[flcyclist]

Even though health insurance might cover the cost of the anti-viral treatment, it is still very expensive.  Each health insurance policy differs and pays different amounts of the rx depending on the specific plan.  These Tier IV drugs under my plan are only covered at 75%, so I have a 25% out of pocket cost.  Another option might be to have the drug administered at the specialist for a copay visit of $50.  

Interesting read.  Thanks for sharing.

[Bali05]

hi aaron,
don`t have any answers but thanks for the post very interesting.

b