FASTER COVID-19 recovery… but with an EGREGIOUS price tag! [Disgusting]

It was the $64,000 question…

And now, we finally have the answer.

The maker behind a drug authorized to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients has announced its price tag…

And it’s a doozy.

I guess the idea that Big Pharma is looking to CASH IN on a drug amid a pandemic shouldn’t shock me.

But there’s another aspect to this story you may not know about – one that blows the lid off WHY the drugmaker’s attempts to PROFIT off sick people isn’t just GREEDY.

It’s downright UNFAIR!

Here’s how the feds are letting one drug company take advantage of a health crisis… and of YOU.

Public funding for a private cash grab

So far, it’s the first – and only – antiviral drug to successfully come out of COVID-19 clinical trials.

And the FDA has issued an emergency authorization for it to treat hospitalized coronavirus patients.

I’m talking about remdesivir.

Researchers say the benefit is “modest.” But cases have shown that ANY little bit of help could make a difference between breathing on your own… and going on a ventilator.

Specifically, remdesivir appears to SLASH 4 days off of the average hospitalization time…

Although coming home 4 days SOONER doesn’t seem to make a statistically significant difference in COVID-19 survival rates.

And it turns out those 4 days come at a hefty price!

If you’ve got private insurance… and you find yourself hospitalized with COVID-19… its maker, Gilead Sciences, will charge $3,120 for the standard course of treatment.

Now, your own out-of-pocket costs will vary, depending on your insurance. And we don’t yet know how much public insurance like Medicaid will cover, either.

And I think most folks would agree that any day you DON’T have to wake up in a hospital bed is worth $780.

But you can imagine the “sticker shock” that current COVID-19 patients about to receive the drug might be experiencing…

And you might be wondering whether your insurance will CAP those costs, should you need to take remdesivir yourself.

Here’s the kicker…

You’ve ALREADY paid for remdesivir!

After Gilead invented it 10 years ago… the company let it sit until the U.S. government provided least $70 million of taxpayers’ money for it to develop the drug as an antiviral.

Now, that’s just a FRACTION of what Gilead SAYS developing and manufacturing the drug will cost in 2020 – which is supposedly $1 billion.

But according to an independent analysis conducted by The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, raw materials to make a 10-day course of treatment of remdesivir cost just under a whopping .

That’s right – only .

Yet Gilead’s CEO Daniel O’Day claims that the company has priced the drug “well below its value”… and that its cost is NOTHING compared to how much you’d have to fork over for those 4 extra days in the hospital.

That’s right – they’re already JUSTIFYING a higher price!

WILL it actually go up? No one knows for sure.

But we know that Gilead CAN and WILL charge LESS for remdesivir.

Other “developed” countries outside the U.S. will pay prices that are 25% LOWER… and “developing” countries will have access to a MUCH cheaper generic version.

They think they can get MORE out of you… even though you’ve already invested in the drug with the taxes you’ve paid!

Gilead DIDN’T consult the public that FUNDED remdesivir’s development – it didn’t HAVE to.

YOUR MONEY helped subsidize the drug… yet you had ZERO say in the pricing.

And Gilead retains EXCLUSIVE control over the patent!

You know what that means…

You’re NEVER getting a return on your investment.

In fact, if you need to reap the benefits provided by the drug… you’ll have to PAY UP… yet again.

Listen, I’m grateful and hopeful that this so-called “reject” drug was RESCUED from the shelves where it was being “mothballed”…

And that it shows some promise in SPEEDING UP the recovery of patients who are terribly sick.

But this is a bad deal all around.

So, this is no time to rest on our laurels. We can’t think that if we get sick… we’ll just take a drug that’ll make it all better.

Even if remdesivir had a 100% success rate… which it DOESN’T… there are too many folks who’d NEVER be able to afford it!

Better to NEVER need a drug like this at all!

I know it feels like this year will never end – but just keep doing what you’re doing.

Help your immune system run smoothly… and reduce your exposure to anything that might make your defenses work harder than usual.

 

To not paying through the nose,

Melissa Young