Gilead's Harvoni accepted in Canadian health plan


Save Story

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

NEW YORK (AP) — Gilead Sciences said multiple Canadian provinces will provide access to the biotechnology company's hepatitis C drug Harvoni following a positive reimbursement recommendation from regulators.

The recommendation means that both Harvoni and the biotechnology company's Sovaldi are listed for public reimbursement for hepatitis in multiple Canadian provinces. The announcement comes one day after the biotechnology company warned that either drug had a potentially fatal complication if taken alongside the heart rhythm drug amiodarone.

Gilead has notified healthcare providers about the issue, in which it witnessed nine cases of irregular heartbeats in patients taking either drug in combination with amiodarone. One case resulted in death.

Shares of Foster City, California-based Gilead Sciences Inc. rose $1.41 to $101.67 in afternoon trading Tuesday. Its shares are up about 41 percent over the past year.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent Business stories

Related topics

The Associated Press
    KSL.com Beyond Business
    KSL.com Beyond Series

    KSL Weather Forecast

    KSL Weather Forecast
    Play button