Pharmaceutical giant Gilead pressured to lower drugs price

Kathmandu, June 23

Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF) said on Friday that it would continue to pressure the US pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences to provide the medicines of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C at reasonable rates and stop evergreening patients on those medicines.

Stating that the drug producer is one of the worst offenders of 'big pharma profiteering', the US-based non-profit organisation said that the company has priced several of its HIV and Hepatitis C drugs out of reach for many people worldwide, particularly in lower-income countries.

Gilead is among the top 15 largest biopharmaceutical firms in the world, generating over US$27 billion in revenue. "In addition to overpricing lifesaving drugs, it has refused to register some medications in lower-income countries and consistently blocks attempts to introduce cheaper, generic versions of its medicines," Country Program Manager of AHF Nepal, Divya Raj Joshi, said at a press interaction organised to inform about the campaign.  

According to him, the exorbitant price of critical medicines would also create challenges for the low-income countries as they might face problems in meeting the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, the government will be unable to procure these medicines as they lack resources.

AHF said that the patent of critical medicines should be extended to the middle-income countries, like India, so that it could be produced and distributed at a lower price.

It has demanded to open the license for the generic production of the Hepatitis C drug Harvoni to all low- and middle-income countries, without exception, and license technology to produce treatment for cryptococcal meningitis to generic manufacturers.

"We are calling on Gilead to do these five things because they are vital in helping the millions of people in low- and middle-income countries that don't have access to the affordable, lifesaving medicines they need," said AHF Asi Bureau Chief, Dr. Chhim Sarath.

Likewise, Joshi said, "We have seen a successful global HIV response over past decades thanks largely to affordable, generic antiretrovirals (ARVs). These therapeutics are accessible due to expanded regional production made possible by the sharing of intellectual property that tallow other manufacturers to produce these drugs and make them available at a lower price." 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 24 June 2023.