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Head Of The Class: A Star Stands Out Among 2014 Drug Launches

 
• By Jessica Merrill

Gilead’s Sovaldi earned a spot in the record books – and the hearts of drug marketers – generating $8.55 billion in the first nine months of 2014. Despite controversy over Sovaldi’s high price, Gilead defended the drug’s value and executed flawlessly on the launch. Other 2014 drug launches were slow out of the gates, as the bar for new drugs continues to grow.

The right drug, with clear efficacy addressing a high unmet medical need, can withstand pushback from payers even when it is priced at a premium and even in 2014. Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) stands as proof of the value innovative new medicines can hold for physicians, patients and even payers – but only if the competition remains limited.

Sovaldi was the standout in an interesting class of drugs that nonetheless largely represented niche specialty commercial opportunities or fell...

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More from North America

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