The Trump administration on Wednesday sued Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company that sells H.I.V.-prevention drugs that can cost patients up to $20,000 a year, accusing the company of earning billions from research funded by taxpayers without paying taxpayers back.
The
government said the company infringed upon patents owned by the
Department of Health and Human Services, and had refused attempts by the
department to license its patents and collect royalties. The company
sells two drugs, Truvada and Descovy, that can be taken once daily to
prevent H.I.V. infection, a strategy called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or
PrEP.
Wider access to PrEP is central to the government’s goal, announced in February,
to reduce new H.I.V. infections by 75 percent over five years, and to
“end the H.I.V. epidemic in America” by 2030. Critics have said the
drug’s lofty price tag has limited its accessibility to high-risk people
with low incomes, thwarting the government’s efforts.
“Gilead
must respect the U.S. patent system, the groundbreaking work by C.D.C.
researchers, and the substantial taxpayer contributions to the
development of these drugs,” Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health
and human services, said in a statement, referring to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. “The complaint filed today seeks to
ensure that they do.”
In May, Gilead said it would donate enough medication
to supply 200,000 patients with the drug for up to 11 years. But about 1
million Americans are estimated to be at risk for infection, and only
about 270,000 people take the pills.
Gilead makes more than $3 billion a year on Truvada.
The lawsuit was cheered by some activists. PReP4All, a group that has pushed for wider access for the drugs, called it “a necessary first step to ensure access to effective H.I.V. prevention for everyone who needs it.”
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