In the May issue, Frazer Tessema and colleagues conduct a precise accounting of government funding that directly contributed to the discovery and development of the first HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis medication, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-emtricitabine (TDF-FTC).
The authors determine that government funding for TDF-FTC included $143 million in (inflation-adjusted) direct funding from the National Institutes of Health and an additional $314 million in “potentially related awards.”
These findings lead to questions about whether high prices for the drug were justified, given the extent of taxpayer contribution to its development.
“By 2019 TDF-FTC had a list price of $1,600–$2,000 per month in the US but less than $6 in Australia. It was generically available in many other high-income countries besides the US by 2019, despite the CDC’s patents,” Tessema and colleagues point out.
During May,
we're highlighting influential Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander voices and organizations who have made an impact on health equity and policy.
Health Affairs is launching a contest! The premise is simple. Finish the statement “You’re A Health Policy Wonk If…"
We'll share some of the submissions on Forefront in July, and the first-place winner of the contest will receive a Health Affairs tumbler and a free Unlimited membership for a year. Submit by May 31.
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Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewedjournalat the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking
content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.
Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
