Gilead Sciences Statement On Inaccurate Reporting On Truvada®

Gilead Invented HIV Treatment and Prevention Medication with Estimated $1.1 Billion in R&D Funding

Foster City, Calif., May 14, 2019 — Among multiple inaccuracies published in a New York Times editorial on May 13, assertions that taxpayer dollars funded the development of Truvada® (FTC/TDF) are incorrect.

The government did not invent PrEP, Truvada or Truvada for PrEP®. Gilead invented Truvada and funded the clinical trials that led to its 2004 FDA approval for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents to treat HIV. The company has spent an estimated $1.1 billion on R&D related to Truvada – to develop the two individual drugs that make up Truvada, invent the combination product that is Truvada, invent its use for HIV treatment and support the clinical trials that led to the approval of Truvada for PrEP. Any claim to the contrary is false.

Ending the HIV epidemic is a critically important public health goal. For decades, Gilead has been a leading innovator in the field of HIV, driving advances in treatment, prevention, testing and linkage to care, and cure research that are key components of efforts to end the epidemic. Now more than ever, accurate and fair discussions based on facts and the lived realities of people living with or at risk for HIV are essential to advance the policies and innovations that have the potential to reach this goal.