23 May 2019 - Gilead Sciences, a California biopharmaceutical company, scored a major breakthrough in 2013 when the FDA approved Sovaldi, a pill that could cure hepatitis C when combined with another anti-viral medication. 

And then Gilead delivered another breakthrough, albeit not a good one: It priced Sovaldi at $1,000 per pill, or $84,000 to $168,000 per course of treatment. The pricing stunned patients, insurers and state governments, which were suddenly exposed to billions of dollars in potential prescription costs.

But as it turns out, Sovaldi was just a milepost on the way to the six- and seven-figure prices that a new generation of specialty drugs are expected to command. These gene therapies seek to cure conditions linked to genetic abnormalities or alter cells to build up the body’s defences. According to the pharmaceutical industry, close to 300 such treatments are in development, with the largest number of them focused on fighting cancer

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