This sounds like Provenge all over again, and what roller coaster ride that was as the price of the stock became more
important than the prostate cancer drug they produced, and look where they are today, downsizing and competing with other drugs that are simpler in nature. According to this press release the CEO is on the Forbes top 100 paid CEO list, in money that is. The new drug approved costs over $28k a year for a patient. It is 35% higher than the company’s other best selling HIV/AIDS drug.
He sold his stock after the big jump and will the new drug be affordable to Medicare and Medicaid? This alone her goes back to why the NIH needs to fund more research as it certainly needs to be paid for somewhere along the line but perhaps we can leave out some of the money making efforts here that have nothing to do with the product that is being created in order to make it more affordable. If you missed it, last week the NIH/Milken Foundation addressed this very issue in their Celebration of Science. BD
NIH And Milken Institute Announce “Celebration of Science Day” Saturday September 8, 2012 Recognizing Research and Development & Making a Difference - NFL Donates $30 Million to the NIH For Brain Injury Research
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the nation’s largest HIV/AIDS nonprofit medical provider
and a vocal critic of runaway drug pricing and AIDS drug profiteering, today criticized John Martin, CEO of Gilead Sciences, the leading HIV/AIDS drug maker, for cashing out at the public’s expense over his recent sale of 145,450 shares of Gilead stock (worth about $8.5 million), which according to the website SeekingAlpha.com, took place on September 4th. Martin had over $54.5 million in reported compensation last year at Gilead, an amount that placed him 10th on Forbes’ List of the 100 highest paid CEOs in the United States. Martin’s stock sale followed on the heels of news early last week that Gilead chose to set its Wholesale Acquisition Price (WAC) for Stribild, its latest entry in the AIDS drug market, a four-in-one, once-a-day tablet—at $28,500 per patient, per year—a record price for a first line combination therapy and a price that led to some,“…disappointment and controversy within the larger HIV community,” according to a separate press release issued by the ADAP Crisis Task Force (ACTF) of the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD). Gilead manufactures the most commonly prescribed HIV/AIDS drugs, as well as some of the highest priced ones. Stribild entered the market priced 37% higher than Atripla, Gilead’s best selling HIV/AIDS combination therapy.
According to the SeekingAlpha.com website, “John Martin sold 145,450 shares on September 4 and currently holds 1,989,938 shares of the company. Dr. Martin joined Gilead Sciences in 1990 and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.”
http://www.businesswire.com/news/rxtimes/20120907006103/en/AHF-Greed-Pays%E2%80%94Gilead%E2%80%99s-John-Martin-Cashes-Public%E2%80%99s
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