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New research shows that Gilead Sciences' HIV medicine, lenacapavir, could be sold for just $40. But Gilead is charging more than $40,000 USD. The International AIDS Conference is happening in Germany all this week. It brings together people living with HIV, healthcare professionals, scientists and policy makers to collaborate on preventing and treating HIV and AIDS. Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of UNAids, said Gilead's new treatment could be "life-saving" for people facing stigma and violence because of their HIV status or sexuality. Gay men, trans women and young women in Africa could get an injection twice a year instead of having to take daily pills and hide these from those around them. But this will only be possible if Gilead stops prioritising profit before people's health. We have an opportunity right now whilst there's a global focus on HIV to call on Gilead to make its new medicine accessible and affordable for everyone. John, will you join more than 21,819 Ekō members and add your name to the petition? With determination,
John, Gilead Sciences new vaccine can treat and prevent HIV with just two injections each year. But with a price tag of $42,000 USD, millions of people are missing out on life saving treatment. We could help change this. The International AIDS Conference starts on Monday. It's the perfect platform for Gilead to announce it will make its groundbreaking HIV medicine affordable and accessible for everyone worldwide, not just for rich people. Celebrities like Gillian Anderson and Stephen Fry and the Nobel-winning scientist who helped discover HIV have already signed an open letter urging Gilead to share these vaccines with low and middle income countries. The development and distribution of the Covid vaccine showed us companies will do this when there’s enough public pressure. Will you help build momentum before the AIDS Conference and make this too big for Gilead to ignore? Add your name to the petition: make HIV medicine accessible and affordable for everyone. Each year 1 million people test positive for HIV, and more than 600,000 die from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide. But Gilead's injection could change that by treating AND preventing HIV. It would save and change millions of lives, especially those facing stigma, young women fighting for body autonomy, sex workers and LGBTQ+ people. More than 40 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses. But HIV is a very manageable health condition when people are able to access care and treatment. Gilead received public money from the US Government for previous research and development of a HIV prevention drug called Truvada. And despite Gilead making billions from selling Truvada each year, the public and the US Government don’t get any of that money. The gatekeeping by big, rich companies needs to end now. Add your name to the petition calling on Gilead to save lives. It’s been done before. Last year after sustained public pressure Johnson & Johnson signed a deal to sell its tuberculosis drug, bedaquiline, in most lower and middle income countries, giving millions access to a cheaper life-saving drug. And the Ekō community has a successful track record of pushing big corporations to do the right thing too. When we took action and called on Covid vaccine patent rights to be waived so that more countries could produce their own cheaper and easily accessible treatments it worked. Let’s do it again.  Thanks for all that you do, More information: Celebrities join campaigners in call for cheaper version of ‘gamechanger’ HIV drug for poorer countries
The Guardian 30 May 2024
Open Letter
People's Medicines Alliance 27 May 2024
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