Gilead Sciences (GILD), which is already the subject of red-hot attention for its business practices, is about to come under still more scrutiny when a House committee holds a hearing on Thursday about pricing for its Truvada HIV prevention pill. And Gilead chief executive Daniel O’Day will be among those testifying.
AIDS activists have increasingly lambasted the company for pricing they claim has caused access issues and have implored the federal government to pursue royalties on a key patent that was filed by researchers whose work was funded, in part, with taxpayer dollars. The activists argue that the government could use any royalties toward combating the virus.
The pill, which is also sometimes referred to as PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, costs about $1,675 a month, or $20,000 a year, but has been climbing steadily since it was first introduced in 2004 for treating HIV. At that time, the wholesale cost for a month’s supply was $650. In 2012, Truvada was approved for HIV prevention, the cost was $1,159, according to Truven Health Analytics, a unit of IBM.
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