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High price for Hep C drug sparks controversy

Treatment can cure disease common in people with HIV

Published

13 years ago

on

Carl Schmid, Hep C, drug, Gilead, the AIDS Institute, gay news, Washington Blade

Carl Schmid, deputy director of the AIDS Institute, said Sovaldi is expensive, ‘but this is remarkable progress and the cure rate is extremely high.’ (Photo courtesy of Schmid)

The pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences received praise earlier this month for bringing to market a newly approved drug capable of curing the potentially fatal liver disease Hepatitis C without the serious and debilitating side effects caused by the existing drug used to treat the disease.

Experts say 20 percent of people with HIV are co-infected with Hepatitis C, which over a period of years can lead to death through liver cancer and liver failure. Physicians treating people with HIV, including Whitman-Walker Health’s medical director, Dr. Richard Elion, have called Gilead’s new drug a major breakthrough.

But at least two organizations that advocate for people with HIV and Hepatitis C have denounced Gilead for setting the wholesale price for its new drug Sovaldi at a level they consider exorbitant and which they say could lead to further escalating prices for AIDS drugs.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the nation’s largest private organization providing medical services for people with HIV/AIDS, and the Fair Pricing Coalition, which advocates for affordable prices for prescription drugs for people with serious illnesses, called Gilead’s decision to set a wholesale acquisition cost of $84,000 for a 12-week treatment regimen of Sovaldi unprecedented.

“There can be no better example of the unbridled greed of the pharmaceutical industry than Gilead’s latest move: pricing its new hepatitis drug at $84,000 per 28-tablet bottle or $1,000 per pill,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF.

Lynda Dee, co-chair of Fair Pricing Coalition, called Sovaldi a “very safe and highly effective drug” but noted that it must be used in combination with other drugs to treat different Genotypes, or strains, of Hepatitis C.

She said that although the other drugs – pegylated interferon and ribavirin – are not as expensive as Sovaldi, the price tag for combination therapy with Sovaldi comes to $93,000 and $168,000 for various treatment regimens for a single person living with Hepatitis C.

“Gilead has set the bar dangerously high as other companies determine prices for similar Hepatitis C drugs as they enter the market,” Dee said.

In a statement released at the time the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Sovaldi for patient use on Dec. 6, Gilead said it had put in place a patient assistance program to ensure that people with Hepatitis C have access to Sovaldi regardless of their ability to pay for it.

The statement said the program provides assistance to “patients who are uninsured, underinsured or who need financial assistance to pay for the medicine.” The program, called Support Path, will provide Sovaldi “at no charge for eligible patients with no other insurance options,” according to the statement.

While praising Gilead for offering such a program, which is common within the pharmaceutical industry, critics say the high price for Sovaldi would likely prompt other companies to put in place similarly high pricing policies for other promising drugs about to be released for the treatment of both Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS.

Some Wall Street analysts suggested Gilead’s price for Sovaldi may be justified when taking into consideration the amount it spent to bring such a beneficial drug to market. Bloomberg business news service reported that Gilead, which didn’t invent Sovaldi, paid $11 billion in 2011 to buy Pharmasset, Inc., the company that developed Sovaldi and other Hepatitis C drugs expected to be approved soon.

Bloomberg cited pharmaceutical industry observers who said the Hepatitis C drugs Gilead obtained through this purchase could pull in as much as $20 billion by 2020.

Clinical trials with patients monitored by the Food and Drug Administration demonstrated that Sovaldi had a cure rate of more than 90 percent for patients with the Genotype 2 strain of Hepatitis C following a 12-week regimen with the drug ribavirin. Patients with Genotype 3, another strain of Hepatitis C, had a similarly successful cure rate following a 24-week regimen of Sovaldi and Ribavirin, the trials showed.

For patients with Genotype 1 or 4 of the Hepatitis C infection, the Sovaldi treatment needed to be combined with pegylated alfa interferon, the drug of choice for Hepatitis C before the development of Sovaldi and other new drugs nearing completion of clinical trials, statements by Gilead and the FDA said. Interferon causes serious and debilitating side effects for most patients, forcing some to stop using it before the Hepatitis C virus can be eliminated, according to medical experts.

The good news, according to those monitoring Hepatitis C treatment developments, is that Gilead and other pharmaceutical companies are close to releasing other new drugs capable of effectively curing patients with the Genotype 1 and Genotype 4 strains without the need for Interferon.

“I believe that Sovaldi will have a major impact on public health by significantly increasing the number of Americans who are cured of Hepatitis C,” said Dr. Ira Jacobson, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, who served as a principal investigator in the clinical trials of Sovaldi.

Carl Schmid, deputy director of the AIDS Institute, which advocates for people with HIV, said the ability of Sovaldi to actually cure patients with Hepatitis C makes it different from HIV drugs on the market, which keep most patients healthy but cannot cure HIV/AIDS.

“Yes, it’s expensive,” he said of Sovaldi. “But this is remarkable progress and the cure rate is extremely high.”

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Arizona

Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead

Tucson police investigating double murder-suicide as a hate crime

Published

8 hours ago

on

September 1, 2026

By

The shooting happened outside Venture-N bar in Tucson, Ariz. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Three people were fatally shot outside a gay bar in Tucson, Ariz., early Monday morning, about a mile from the city’s nightlife district.

Police have said the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of Venture-N bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave., was likely a hate crime and a double murder-suicide following a verbal altercation.

The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, allegedly shot Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara while they were outside the club around 12:30 a.m. Monday.

Reports show Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.

Police have also said that Ceesay was carrying a list of LGBTQ businesses at the time of the shooting.

Arizona Public Media has said police are investigating the case as a hate crime because the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQ-associated businesses.

“I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”

According to Prieto, there is no imminent threat to the community, and the Tucson Police Department is working to provide extra protection to various LGBTQ businesses across town.

Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who represents the area, issued a statement condemning the act of violence, which appears to have been at least in part motivated by homophobia.

“I am disgusted and deeply saddened to learn of a targeted act of hate and the cold-blooded murder of two members of our LGBTQIA+ community, Vincent Siqueiros and Cameron Capara, at the Venture-N bar in Tucson last night. This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist.”

“When that hate is combined with easy access to firearms, the consequences can be deadly. I am sick and tired of Congress refusing to lift a finger to protect our communities while, every day, dozens of people are shot and killed across the country. It does not have to be this way. The House of Representatives is returning to session this week, and our first action should be passing common-sense gun safety reforms that we know can save lives.”

Other federal lawmakers also condemned the shooting.

The Congressional Equality Caucus, which is made up of federal legislators advancing LGBTQ interests, issued a statement after news broke.

“Our hearts are with the friends and loved ones of the victims of this devastating attack outside a Tucson gay bar and with the Tucson LGBTQI+ community,” it said on X. “No one should fear violence because of who they are — and we’re going to continue fighting to build a world where no one does.”

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country, released a statement following the shooting.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community. Once again, we are reminded that gun violence robs people of their lives, destroys families, and devastates communities.”

A candlelight vigil honoring the victims is planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in North Tucson.

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Congress

HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH

Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

Published

1 day ago

on

August 31, 2026

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Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, left, campaigns with U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in Manchester, N.H., on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign)

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.

Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.

Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.

Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.

A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.

The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.

Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.

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National

Milo Yiannopoulos deported to UK

ICE arrested far-right provocateur in New Orleans on Thursday

Published

4 days ago

on

August 28, 2026

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Milo Yiannopoulos (Photo via Homeland Security @DHSgov/X account)

Editor’s note: The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday said Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported to the U.K.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday arrested far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.

A DHS spokesperson in a statement sent to the Washington Blade said ICE arrested Yiannopoulos, who they described as “an illegal alien from the United Kingdom,” at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

The DHS spokesperson said Yiannopoulos “legally entered the country” in New York on May 14, 2019.

“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” said the spokesperson.

The DHS spokesperson said an immigration judge on July 22 “issued a final order of removal” for Yiannopoulos “after failing to show up for his immigration hearing.” The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans on Friday reported Yiannopoulos is being held at an ICE detention center in Alexandria, La., which is about 200 miles northwest of the Crescent City.

“He will remain in ICE custody pending removal,” said the DHS spokesperson.

Yiannopoulos has, among other things, repeatedly targeted transgender people and Muslims.

The American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual Conversative Political Action Conference, in 2017 disinvited Yiannopoulos from speaking at that year’s CPAC after a video in which he appeared to condone sex between adults and underage boys emerged. Yiannopoulos subsequently resigned from Breitbart News, a far-right news website, where he had been a senior editor.

Yiannopoulos later that year married his boyfriend in Hawaii. The far-right provocateur in 2021 claimed he was an “ex-gay.”

The Australian government in 2019 banned Yiannopoulos from entering the country “on character grounds.” Yiannopoulos was also banned from Facebook, Twitter (now X), and other social media platforms.

Milo Yiannopoulos speaks at a “Gays for Trump” event during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Times-Picayune reported Yiannopoulos “most recently worked for” Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.

The controversial rapper is scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday.

Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who is close to President Donald Trump, has called for Yiannopoulos’s deportation. Loomer on Friday wrote on X that she “reported him to ICE and the FBI” after he “called for me to be assassinated.”

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