Wow! Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!

Further, if Gilead tripled their investment in buying Pharmasset for $11 billion and making about $30 billion to date (with Pharmasset getting hundreds of percent return on their investment), how much are the unlicensed manufacturers making on intellectual property that they have paid nothing for?

Sure, they are selling it a little cheaper than the licensed Asian manufacturers, but with a much smaller investment. Do you think they are doing it out of the goodness of their blessed hearts? As a social service?

I’ve criticised Gilead for their greed myself, but if you take a couple of seconds to think about it, their behaviour is absolutely unremarkable for this part of the business world. Everyone is out to make a buck and, if they think like you, spend it on hookers and private jets.

While you have your private hate festival, don’t forget that Gilead is also the major actor in bringing this very useful drug to the market and doesn’t deserve the one-sided vitriol it is getting. Please give the angry, ignorant man-of-righteousness routine a break, will you?

No A.L. I won’t give it a break

I feel if you can only make money hurting or cheating people, then you should not be in business. There is a difference between luxury items and health care. Charging $100,000 for a watch you make for $1,000 is fine. But not the same thing with a life saving drug. There is a thing called GOUGING….a fair profit margin is perhaps 1000%, not 10,000%. Gilead is a perverse joke. You give it a break

I think Prof Gane’s comments about dodgy Ledipasvir are political, so that he is seen as super cautious about generics at the same time as he is supportive of FixHepC. The NZ Hepatitis Foundation facebook page (Prof Gane is on the board) has positive stories about FixHepC all over it.
He has raised this dodgy Ledipasvir theory in three interviews I am aware of. At first we were warned about generics from China and Bangladesh, now just Bangladesh.
If this was occurring – people taking ineffective Led – we would know about it by now. And of course the Prof must be aware that authentic Chinese APIs get the job done.

Thanks Gaj, for reorganising threads like this. I have tidied up my post here.

I will just say, he has recently said that people who are not F4 can afford to wait 5 years: Tina’s story shows us all why that would be a criminal waste of the only life we have. You will notice she said, she has never told anyone these things- it is a gift from her, for other people to take strength from.

Yes,
The threads tend to take on a life of their own. For better or worse. At least we don’t have an Evil Joy who can keep everything just the way she likes it.
It is totally unacceptable for the CDC to recommend all boomers get tested, but have other experts say you can wait for years for tx.
Frankly, the knowledge I was infected and there was a cure I could not access was the worst part of my personal HCV experience. I went public twice to air my frustrations in our state newspaper.
I didn’t rate a picture though…
Way to go Tina!
m

On the subject of Prof Gane’s comment about those who are not F4, all I can say is that I was not F4 two years ago and was considered to be able to wait. The cliff edge of cirrhosis and its complications that I fell over 18 months ago suggests that was not the case!!!

“And as as far as I’m concerned, any doctor who says people with F4 can wait 5 years should be taken out and shot…

… with a US Army JetGun![/quote]”

I like it Vovoro but it was: treatment for F4 now, certainly, but everyone else can wait. We beg to differ. I have been F4 17 years but have seen and heard people suffering much more day to day than I did who show far less damage. I am aware that comment has personally distressed quite a few people who feel rubbed out by that analysis. I understand he is doing liver transplant work and sees the very sickest of us but it is disheartening that he doesn’t seem aware of how limiting all the years up to that point are.
The experience, positions held and (justifiable) respect for Prof Gane’s work means he is able to set the authoritative tone for treatment here in NZ, where there is not even a discussion about funding or supplying daclatisvir for us G3’s, Harvoni only is the option for compassionate treatment, Why waste that money. He also says the total cost of treatment is $60-100k, well it might be for 12 weeks but you can double that for nearly all of us getting close to qualifying for compassionate access because we will nearly all be tx experienced and obviously cirrhotic so will need 24. I was told repeatedly (before I got my script from GP2U) i needed 12 weeks Harvoni, on the strength of Prof Ganes study, that it showed 97% success. But my category, G3 tx exp. was buried in brackets below all other results at 82%. I sent it back and forward and eventually had to print and highlight it!

Wow Hazel, that’s shocking hmy:

GT3s struggling in UK, they’re tending to put them on Int/Sofo/Riba …
DAC is very expensive here, along with the other meds. it seems. The whole one treatment fits all concerns me too you know? we are all unique. One size may fit many, but what about the ones that don’t fit one size, you know?

I can see things hopefully improving in the future, there are a few articles coming out re tailoring treatment to fit the individual patient, but if course, cost will still be an issue , but they’re talking about SVR predictions, shortening some treatments but also extending others. No doubt they have their eye on shortening, but that could hopefully help patients needing other treatments to access too? That’s the feeling I get coming from a few good Drs. who can think ‘outside the box’ and don’t just amble along getting paid and just accepting health authority guidelines without question .

http://www.idse.net/Hepatitis/Article/04-16/Improving-Hep-C-Treatment-Via-nbsp-Individualized-Therapy/35876

One poor patient relapsed in this trial, they said that patient could have benefited with another week of Sofo/Led – So feel for that anonymous patient and so grateful I have the chance to consider my own options.