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The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
reported that Gilead Sciences, Inc. charges US HIV patients $28,500 per year
for the new HIV drug Stribild, in comparison to $16,600 per patient per year in
Canada and European countries with price controls. AHF president Michael
Weinstein questioned why Gilead was willing to charge US government programs
like ADAP and US HIV patients 42 percent more per patient, per year than
price-controlled countries with stronger economies.
When the FDA approved Stribild, a
drug that combines four HIV medicines in one pill, in September 2012, Gilead
immediately set the U.S. Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) at $28,500. Stribild
costs 35 percent more per patient, per year than Atripla, Gilead’s best selling
three-in-one combination drug.
The WAC for other Gilead drugs also
went up in 2013: Atripla increased 6 percent to $1,878.23 per month; Complera
went up 5.8 percent to $1,936.53; Emtriva rose by 5.5 percent to $478.45; and
Viread increased 6 percent to $771.39.
Weinstein stated AHF challenged
Gilead’s pricing strategy to educate people in the United States about the cost
of HIV medicines and to pressure Gilead into changing its US pricing policies.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
