Groups welcome reversal of Gilead’s price gouging decision that would have resulted in fewer people with HIV getting access to lifesaving treatment.
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) was victorious killing Gilead Sciences’ plan to institute high-single digit price hikes for several of its HIV medications, hikes that would have gutted the nation’s AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs).
Last week, following months of negotiations between Gilead and state ADAP programs, AHF sent a letter signed by over 100 organizations nationwide to Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day demanding the company hold off on the proposed hikes. The following day, Gilead announced that it had agreed not to boost prices on its key HIV medications, according to STAT News.
ADAPs, a national network of state AIDS drug programs, are a lifeline for low-income patients. The price hike would have meant ADAPs would have furnished fewer prescriptions to those most in need.
Unfortunately, Gilead’s initial decision to make life-saving therapeutics more expensive for ADAPs was not a one-off but follows a pattern under the leadership of Gilead’s CEO, Daniel O’Day.
O’Day ruthlessly seeks to boost profits by restricting access to Gilead’s HIV medicines. From patent manipulation to curtailing patient assistance programs, O’Day has proven that drug giants do not need to innovate to make money. Under his tenure, Gilead has put up multiple roadblocks to make it harder for medically underserved Americans to attain their medications. O’Day has had one goal – maximizing profits of the older drugs in Gilead’s portfolio instead of investing in the breakthrough HIV therapeutics of the future.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 2.6 million individuals across 49 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Contacts
MEDIA CONTACTS:
John Hassell, AHF National Director of Advocacy
1.202.774.4854 mobile. [email protected]
Ged Kenslea, Sr. Director, Communications, AHF
1.323.791.5526 mobile [email protected]
