Gilead Sciences Commends Convictions in Counterfeiting Scheme, Pledges Continued Commitment to Protect Patients
Foster City, Calif., February 9, 2023 – Gilead Sciences today announced support for the recent conviction of David Jess Miller and his company, Minnesota Independent Cooperative (“MIC”) for the wide array of charges related to the unlicensed and fraudulent distribution of more than $150 million of prescription drugs, which included Gilead’s HIV and hepatitis C therapies. The jury verdict followed the guilty pleas of MIC’s 39 co-conspirators. These defendants were indicted in 2015, following a 2012 letter sent by Gilead to pharmacists nationwide warning them about tampered HIV medications sold by MIC. The medications were either counterfeit or diverted from patients who had been prescribed them to treat their serious medical conditions and then re-sold to pharmacies.
Gilead reported the illegal activity to the Government, supported the Government’s investigation and a Gilead executive provided testimony at trial. This verdict further protects patient safety and the integrity of prescription medications in the U.S. supply chain. Gilead will continue to pursue necessary measures, including working closely with the FDA, FBI and prosecutors, to protect public health and safety by thwarting illegal pharmaceutical distribution. We hope this verdict and the guilty pleas of the 39 co-conspirators will serve as an ongoing deterrent to others from distributing counterfeit and diverted Gilead medications to patients. The safety of patients taking Gilead medication is always our first priority.
Counterfeit and tampered medicines can result in serious and or life-threatening health risks. They are not equivalent in quality, safety, and/or efficacy to genuine medicines. They may not contain the correct medicine or amount of active ingredient and may also contain impurities. Additionally, counterfeit or tampered medicines may be produced in unsafe manufacturing conditions and travel through insecure supply chains. Medicine diverted from patients deprives those patients of their critical treatments, places the community at greater risk of the spread of infections and those medications, having been taken out of the legal distribution chain, are at a risk of being tampered, adulterated or otherwise mishandled in a way dangerous to patients.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis and cancer. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.
For more than 30 years, Gilead has been a leading innovator in the field of HIV, driving advances in treatment, prevention, testing and linkage to care, and cure research. Today, millions of people living with HIV globally receive antiretroviral therapy provided by Gilead or one of the company’s manufacturing partners.
For more information about Gilead, please visit the company’s website at www.gilead.com, follow Gilead on Twitter (@Gilead Sciences) or call Gilead Public Affairs at 1-800-GILEAD-5 or 1-650-574-3000.