A prominent advocacy group is asking Gilead Sciences (GILD) to relinquish a valuable voucher that came with Food and Drug Administration approval of its remdesivir treatment for Covid-19, arguing the voucher is “an entirely unnecessary and an inappropriate incentive” for a drug that has “limited” effectiveness and is already generating huge profits.
In a letter to Gilead, Public Citizen maintained the priority review voucher — which the FDA awarded for developing a drug that posed a “material threat” to public health — offers the company an undeserved windfall. Vouchers are granted to encourage certain drug development, and companies can receive accelerated FDA review time for another drug or sell them to other companies, sometimes for $100 million or more.
But the advocacy group contended that Gilead does not need such a voucher, because the company is racking up big sales from the medicine. Last week, the drug maker reported remdesivir generated $873 million so far this year, yielding 90% profit margins. SVB Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges estimated the drug is on track to ring up $1.8 billion in sales this year.
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