I hope HCQ works, I hope zinc works, I hope remdesivir works, I hope something else does.
But it hasn't been proven that any of these do work; it hasn't been proven that they don't, and it hasn't been proven if they may or may not help different degrees of patient severity; it hasn't been proven if they are good prophylactic drugs for SARS-CoV-2.
Look, about the in-vitro versus in-vivo: we don't need to go far. Remdesivir showed in-vitro activity against viruses of the Filoviridae family (Ebola). That generated the hypothesis that it might work against Ebola, in vivo. Well, so much for that. It was an utter failure in the real-life treatment of patients infected with Ebola. It's being repurposed now for COVID-19. We'll see.
Forty-five hundred dollars, for a ten dollar drug, if reports are any indicator.
POLITICO And Gilead has an extensive history of developing very effective drugs, but at a sky-high premium.
Again, like in another link posted by you earlier, these are people from outside the company, speculating about the price the company is supposed to charge. That is, they are guessing. Let's wait and see what the numbers actually are, OK?
There are two factors that might bring the numbers significantly down:
1) Remdesivir for COVID-19 research was co-sponsored by the NIH. So, Gilead does owe a debt of gratitude to the government. So, the final price will have to include a negotiation in which hopefully (although with the Trump administration one never knows) the governmental side of the equation will pressure Gilead to be reasonable.
2) In previous pricing wars, Gilead didn't enjoy the HUGE world-wide exposure they are getting from this. The whole world is watching. Why do you think they donated 140,000 doses of remdesivir? Because it's great PR. They want to be seen as the saviors of humankind. If they make and sell remdesivir much closer to cost, they will earn a lot of goodwill with governments all over the world, and this may become a good capital for their future endeavors.
So, for now, I wouldn't pay much attention to pundits. We'll see how much remdesivir will cost to actual patients. It might be a lot less than these pundits are anticipating.
Again, to be clear: I have nothing for or against Gilead Sciences and own no Gilead stocks. I'm just expressing my humble opinion. I hope I'm right, but maybe I am not. We'll see.
