The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs spent $370 million on Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Sovaldi and Johnson & Johnson’s Olysio during fiscal year 2014 and is planning for expenditures to "soar" to $1.3 billion for hepatitis C drugs over the next two years, according to information the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs released at a Dec. 3 hearing.
In testimony to the committee, Michael Valentino, the VA's Veterans Health Administration chief consultant for pharmacy benefits management, said the $370 million figure was for drug costs alone for Sovaldi...