US: Activists urge antitrust probe on Gilead

Four well-known AIDS activists sent a letter to the New York State attorney general urging him to investigate whether Gilead Sciences has violated antitrust laws by seeking deals to delay generic versions of its blockbuster HIV medication Truvada, Stat News reports.

Truvada consists of two different HIV meds —tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine—_and is the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration as an HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, in this case a daily pill to prevent HIV-negative people from contracting the virus.

In the letter to New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, activists James Krellenstein, Peter Staley, Tim Horn and Jeremiah Johnson make the case that Gilead Sciences has reached “pay for delay” settlements with generic drug manufacturers for generic Truvada.

The patent for the tenofovir in Truvada expired in July 2017; the patent for emtricitabine doesn’t expire until 2021.

Full Content: Stat News

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