Demand for Gilead’s HCV combo drug Harvoni has been hampered by insurance reimbursement approval, say analysts from Leerink Partners. In an investor note Wednesday morning, Howard Liang wrote that new HCV agents face an “arduous reimbursement process” with “insurance approval being the rate-limiting step,” after discussions with two key opinion leaders. KOLs went on to say that 90% of their patients fail to get approval on the first attempt, and that it typically takes 2-4 weeks for patients to actually start a regimen.
