EPISODE · Jun 18, 2026 · 10 MIN
How the Pricing of a Single Drug Changed an Entire Industry
from Pricing Power Podcast with Fexingo: How Businesses Set Prices, Raise Margins, and Win Customers · host Fexingo
In this episode of Pricing Power Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine the dramatic pricing story of Gilead's hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, which launched at $84,000 per course in 2013. They trace how that single price triggered a backlash that reshaped drug pricing across the entire pharmaceutical industry, from Medicare negotiation rules to the rise of pharmacy benefit managers. Specific figures include the $1,000 pill, the 95 percent cure rate, and the 50 percent discount Gilead eventually offered. The hosts discuss the tension between recouping R&D costs and public health access, and how the controversy presaged today's broader pricing crackdown. This episode connects a specific 2010s pricing moment to lasting structural changes that affect every drug company's pricing strategy today. #Gilead #Sovaldi #DrugPricing #HepatitisC #PharmaceuticalPricing #PricingStrategy #Medicare #RAndD #PublicHealth #PricingBacklash #PharmacyBenefitManagers #Business #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness #PricingPower #Episode60 #SpecificCase #PricingControversy Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
What this episode covers
In this episode of Pricing Power Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine the dramatic pricing story of Gilead's hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, which launched at $84,000 per course in 2013. They trace how that single price triggered a backlash that reshaped drug pricing across the entire pharmaceutical industry, from Medicare negotiation rules to the rise of pharmacy benefit managers. Specific figures include the $1,000 pill, the 95 percent cure rate, and the 50 percent discount Gilead eventually offered. The hosts discuss the tension between recouping R&D costs and public health access, and how the controversy presaged today's broader pricing crackdown. This episode connects a specific 2010s pricing moment to lasting structural changes that affect every drug company's pricing strategy today. #Gilead #Sovaldi #DrugPricing #HepatitisC #PharmaceuticalPricing #PricingStrategy #Medicare #RAndD #PublicHealth #PricingBacklash #PharmacyBenefitManagers #Business #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness #PricingPower #Episode60 #SpecificCase #PricingControversy Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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How the Pricing of a Single Drug Changed an Entire Industry
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