On Monday, Gilead Sciences Inc stated, it has its COVID-19 fighting drug remdesivir at $390 per vial for the United States and for governments of other developed countries. As a result, a patient will have to shell out $2,340 for a five-day course.

It has priced remdesivir for U.S. private insurance companies at $520 per vial, said the drugmaker, which equates to a total of $3,120 per patient.

Gilead Science has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) wherein different states and the Department will manage allocation to hospitals until the end of September 2020.

From October, once supplies are less constrained, HHS will stop managing the allocation, said the drugmaker.

Remdesivir’s pricing strategy has been a topic of intense debate ever since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its emergency use for COVID-19 patients in May 2020.

According to experts, Gilead will need to avoid the appearance of making a profit from a health crisis.

According to Wall Street analysts, the antiviral drug could generate billions of dollars in revenues in the coming years if the pandemic continues.

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