Supporting the PrEP4All Collaboration: Promoting access to a once-a-day pill that prevents HIV
HIV/AIDS remains a public health crisis in the U.S. and around the world. There is no cure or vaccine for HIV, but a pill combining two HIV drugs, emtricitabine (FTC) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), sold by Gilead as “Truvada,” effectively prevents infection if taken once daily. Yet fewer than 10% of at-risk individuals in the United States receive Truvada pre-exposure prophylaxis (“PrEP”), and infection rates remain distressingly high, particularly among people of color and men who have sex with men. The primary barrier is price: Gilead charges $1600 per month for pills that cost as little as $6 per month abroad, meaning that some insurers do not cover it and individuals cannot afford to pay for it out of pocket.
To tackle this crisis, GHJP has partnered with the PrEP4All Collaboration, a group of HIV/AIDS activists that have identified reducing the cost of this drug as a key priority. Lawyers and researchers affiliated with GHJP will provide advice and support on a range of questions around Truvada, including investigation of patents that cover the drug and investigation of the federal government's efforts, to date, to reduce costs or otherwise improve access.
READ: PrEP4All’s National Action Plan for Universal Access to PrEP
IN THE NEWS: GHJP has prepared a statement analyzing certain U.S. government-owned patents that appear to cover aspects of Truvada PrEP but that have not yet been enforced. Read GHJP’s statement on these patents and and GHJP’s two-page summary.