Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezTlaib becomes first Muslim woman to preside over House Overnight Energy: Dems press Interior chief to embrace climate action | Lawmakers at odds on how to regulate chemicals in water | Warren releases climate plan for military Overnight Defense: Lawmakers on edge over Iran tensions | Questions rise after State pulls personnel from Iraq | Senators demand briefing | House panel advances 0B Pentagon spending bill | Warren offers plan on climate threats to military MORE (D-N.Y.) confronted a CEO Thursday for pricing a drug designed to reduce the risk of HIV transmission at $8 in Australia but over $1,500 in the U.S.
"You're the CEO of Gilead. Is it true that Gilead made $3 billion in profits from Truvada in 2018?" Ocasio-Cortez asked Gilead CEO Daniel O'Day.
"$3 billion in revenue," he clarified.
"The current list price is $2,000 a month in the United States, correct?" she asked, referring to Truvada.
"It's $1,780 in the United States," O'Day responded.
"Why is it $8 in Australia?" Ocasio-Cortez countered.
"Truvada still has patent protection in the United States and in the rest of the world it is generic," O'Day explained, adding, "It will be generically available in the United States as of September 2020."
"I think it's important here that we notice that we the public, we the people, developed this drug. We paid for this drug, we lead and developed all the patents to create Prep and then that patent has been privatized despite the fact that the patent is owned by the public, who refused to enforce it," Ocasio-Cortez said.
“There’s no reason this should be $2,000 a month. People are dying because of it and there’s no enforceable reason for it.”
We the people developed this drug. We paid for this drug. Despite the fact that the patent is owned by the public, we refuse to enforce it. There is no reason this should be $2,000 a month. People are dying for no reason.
-@AOC on Gilead's price gouging of an HIV prevention drug pic.twitter.com/HSYPivMjGb — Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) May 16, 2019
Truvada is a prophylactic treatment for HIV or AIDs that reduces the risk of infection.
marathon on May 16th, 2019 at 22:14 UTC »
some things should be off-limits to capitalism/profit motivations:
-healthcare
-prisons
-armed forces
Basically things dealing with life or death.
twistedcheshire on May 16th, 2019 at 19:59 UTC »
Let's also not talk about how much some other pills cost:
Biktarvy: $3234/month Complera: $2944/month Atripla: $2992/monthYeah, the US is screwed when it comes to price hikes on medications needed to prevent, you know, deaths related to HIV.
EDIT: Holy crap I wasn't expecting this to blow up the way it did. Glad to see all the responses! I really wish pharma/corporations wouldn't try and kill us by hiking the prices of medications that, chances are, we help fund. I remember the insulin price hike as well, and the epipen issue.
TaserLord on May 16th, 2019 at 19:22 UTC »
"Creating wealth" is what they like to say they do, but "capturing wealth" is mostly what they do. It is the ugly side of poorly-regulated capitalism.