Segment 3: Saving More Than $4 Billion in 2015

After Viekira Pak was approved, Express Scripts kicked off a spree of exclusivity deals with pharmacy benefit managers and health plans picking Harvoni or Viekira Pak. Ed Cohen, PharmD, FAPhA, doesn’t see an overall problem with these actions, but he does believe both drugs will be available to patients depending on clinical necessity, which would impact costs.

Steven Miller, MD, MBA, explained that since Express Scripts’ aggressive move, prices for Harvoni, Sovaldi and Viekira Pak have all come down. The company is estimating that even with more patients needing to be treated, plan sponsors will spend less in 2015 to cure patients compared with 2014.

“The savings for our patients will be close to a billion dollars in 2015 and we estimate for the entire US market the savings will be over $4 billion,” Dr Miller said. “That 4 billion in savings really allows us to treat every patient.”