Sovaldi use tumbles ahead of release of other drugs

WOONSOCKET– The drug costs $1,000 per pill or $84,000 for a standard 12-week treatment. The data shows that from May to August 2014, there had been a plateau and actual downward trend in Sovaldi utilization.

The data suggests another surge of patients will begin therapy when a number of new therapeutic regimens of similar efficacy and shorter duration are introduced in the fall.

“Despite the current plateau and decline in Sovaldi utilization, we expect to see another peak in spending for Hepatitis C medications upon the release of the new all-oral treatment,” said Dr. Troyen A. Brennan, chief medical officer at CVS Health. “While the simplicity of the new treatment regimen may help reduce discontinuation rates, careful follow-up such as that provided by pharmacies specializing in Hepatitis C in conjunction with the patient’s physician, is still required to ensure patients are completing their course of therapy and deriving the maximum benefit.”

In clinical trials for Sovaldi, more than 95 percent of patients achieved cure rates and almost all patients completed therapy, with only about two percent discontinuing treatment. However, clinical trials rarely capture the real-life challenges faced by patients taking a new drug. The new CVS Health data also provides a first look at the drug’s use outside of the clinical trial setting and shows therapy discontinuation rates of 8.1 percent, approximately four times higher than in trials. Furthermore, patients who were completely new to Hepatitis C treatment were more likely to discontinue therapy, a finding which has substantial implications for clinicians and their patients.

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