AHF applauds Gilead for offering pricing, access concessions to AIDS Drug Assistance Programs

AIDS Healthcare FoundationJun 5 2010

Gilead Joins Abbott, Merck, Tibotec, ViiV Healthcare and other AIDS drug companies in offering concessions to hard-hit AIDS Drug Assistance Programs that will increase patient access to lifesaving AIDS medications

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) lauded Gilead Sciences, maker of several key AIDS drugs, for its announcement earlier today that it will offer significant pricing and access concessions for the nation's beleaguered AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), the federally funded, state run programs that supply lifesaving AIDS drugs to low-income Americans in need. Gilead's concessions, most of which will take effect on or before July 1st, will increase patient access to lifesaving AIDS medications for patients served by the network of cash-strapped ADAPs across the country. The agreement was reached between Gilead and the ADAP Crisis Task Force (ACTF) of the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD). Gilead, which markets the AIDS drugs Truvada®, Viread® and Emtriva® joins Abbott, Merck, Tibotec Therapeutics and ViiV Healthcare among the ranks of AIDS drug manufacturers that have recently offered significant price cuts, freezes, or price rebate adjustments and other concessions on the pricing of their lifesaving AIDS medications to ADAP.

"Gilead's actions will clearly make its AIDS medications—among the most widely-prescribed today—far more affordable and accessible for state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs and the thousands of people who rely on ADAPs for access to the lifesaving antiretroviral AIDS treatments these programs provide," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "Gilead's offer of additional discounts and price freezes on its three primary AIDS treatments, its expansion of eligibility for its patient assistance program from 300% of Federal Poverty Guidelines to 500% and its elimination of minimum payments for patients through Gilead's co-payment assistance program should allow many cash-strapped states to keep their ADAPs operating and providing treatment access to low income patients in need. We that Gilead for their actions and urge those remaining drug companies, including BMS and Boehringer Ingelheim, to follow Gilead's lead by matching or offering similar pricing and access concessions to ADAP."

While many states are facing massive budget shortfalls and are seeking to cut a wide spectrum of services, more than twelve have gone as far as instituting patient waiting lists to access ADAP services, including Florida—with the nation's third highest case HIV/AIDS load—which instituted an ADAP waiting list starting June 1st. There are currently more than 1,100 individuals on ADAP waiting lists across the country.