J&J’s New Hepatitis C Treatment Fetches $31,000 in France
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New hepatitis C drugs from Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson are being sold in France for 22,000 euros ($31,271) and more, a precedent some doctors say may limit access after the medicines are approved throughout Europe.
J&J and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s telaprevir costs 22,000 euros under a French program for seriously ill patients for whom there is no other effective treatment on the market, according to patient association SOS Hepatites. Merck & Co. said its boceprevir costs 30,000 euros under the same program.