U.S. Public Policy Engagement
Because public policy affects our ability to meet patient needs and provide shareholder value, Gilead focuses on transparently helping to build a constructive discourse in the political and regulatory environment. We support policies – and policymakers – who share our purpose and position us to achieve our vision of creating a healthier world for all people.
Gilead’s public policy engagement focuses on three core areas:
- Driving patient-focused public policy that advances access to innovative, life-saving, medicines
- Responsible drug-pricing strategies to ensure affordable access for patients and drive future investments in research and development
- Protection of intellectual property to responsibly drive scientific innovation and competition
Click below to read more on the following topics:
Principles
Gilead’s public policy engagement is guided by the following principles:
- Gilead is committed to transparency and is guided by our Code of Ethics in all public policy engagement.
- Gilead pursues activities that shape policies to benefit patients, with a focus on improving patient access to new medical advances.
- Gilead federal and state government affairs representatives participate in annual ethics and legal training on political engagement.
Gilead does not:
- Provide political contributions in anticipation of, in recognition of or in return for an official act.
- Seek or receive direct or indirect reimbursements for personal political contributions or expenses.
- Pressure or coerce fellow employees to make personal political contributions.
- Reward employees or make employment decisions based in whole or in part on that employee’s personal political contributions.
Advocacy
Gilead advocates on a range of issues in the United States, including:
Advancing patient access to innovative and life-saving medicines
- Gilead is committed to discovering, developing, and delivering innovative therapeutics for people with life-threatening diseases.
- Health disparities and inequities are pervasive in the patient populations we serve, and we are committed to elevating solutions to mitigate these disparities.
- We advocate for policies that expand and accelerate access to care, including treatments for HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19, cancer and more. We also advocate to protect our ability to innovate and reduce health disparities and inequities.
- We support programs that promote disease prevention, strengthen healthcare infrastructure, and provide education and financial support to the most vulnerable communities around the world.
- By enabling access to medicines, challenging assumptions, eliminating stigma and collaborating with partners worldwide, we work not simply to treat some of the world’s most challenging public health threats – but to eliminate them.
Responsible drug-pricing strategies to ensure affordable access for patients and drive future investments in research and development
- Gilead prices our medicines to reflect the value they deliver to patients, healthcare systems and society.
- This in turn enables Gilead to invest in transformative innovations and maintain the safety, quality and reliability of our existing medicines. Gilead supports holistic drug-pricing proposals that lower out-of-pocket costs for patients and make medicines more affordable and accessible.
- At the same time, any legislative or regulatory drug-pricing proposal should also protect patient access to innovative new medicines and allow for the development of future treatments and cures.
- Gilead has serious concerns regarding drug-pricing proposals that would require manufacturers to accept a government-set price or face a confiscatory excise tax or withdraw all products from Medicare and Medicaid.
- Gilead also believes that drug-pricing proposals should not disrupt clinical development plans, discourage investments in small-molecule drugs targeting the Medicare population, or reduce incentives to conduct post-approval research and study indications with smaller populations.
- Similarly, drug-pricing proposals should not put more distance between future treatments and cures for conditions that disproportionally impact underserved communities, as such approaches will impede progress to advance health equity.
- Any drug-pricing reform effort should also ensure that pharmacy benefit managers are accountable to enrolled patients, reimbursed based on the work they do and ensure that they do not co-opt the assistance that manufacturers provide to patients to help defray out-of-pocket costs.
Protection of intellectual property to responsibly drive scientific innovation and competition
- The recognition and protection of intellectual property by governments is central to ensuring ongoing innovation in biomedical research and the development of new medicines.
- Without intellectual property protections, pharmaceutical companies could not secure or generate the up-front capital required from their investors to ensure continued research and development of new medicines that address unmet patient needs.
- Gilead advocates for policies to support the responsible use of intellectual property, which is the best way to simultaneously drive therapeutic innovation and ensure access to treatment for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay for healthcare or where they live in the world.
Political Contributions
Gilead and its employees participate in the political process in the United States, both through contributions by the Gilead PAC, as well as corporate contributions, subject to applicable federal and state laws. All Gilead corporate and Gilead PAC political contributions are vetted through a rigorous process that includes:
- Gilead federal and state Government Affairs representatives vet candidates and submit proposals to Government Affairs leadership.
- An internal review is conducted to confirm that the contribution meets Gilead’s giving criteria and is within the approved budget, and to assess the reputational risk of making the contribution.
- An external compliance review is performed to ensure the contribution is permissible in the relevant jurisdiction.
- The Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Policy reviews and approves each contribution.
- Gilead’s Finance department confirms all political contributions comply with the company’s financial controls and policies.
- On a quarterly basis, Gilead's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee reviews the company's political expenditure policies and confirms that all political expenditures are consistent with the company's policies.
Gilead PAC
Contributions to federal candidates and committees are made by the Gilead Sciences Inc. Healthcare Policy PAC (“Gilead PAC”), a federally registered political committee that accepts contributions from eligible Gilead employees on a voluntary basis. The Gilead PAC is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, who are responsible for the supervision, control and direction of the affairs of the PAC, and execute policies and decisions consistent with the PAC’s purposes. Criteria for identifying candidates eligible for support by the Gilead PAC are enumerated in the Gilead PAC by-laws. Direct corporate contributions to federal candidates and national political party committees are prohibited by law. As a result, we do not make such contributions with corporate funds.
Corporate Contributions
Gilead further participates in the political process by contributing prudently to state and local candidates and political organizations when such contributions are permitted by state and local law. Generally, contributions are made to officeholders and candidates based on several criteria, including policy positions that reflect the interests of Gilead, our employees or the communities we serve; representation of geographic area where our employees and facilities are located; ability to be elected; and the need for financial assistance. Gilead’s priorities for making political expenditures with corporate funds include furthering public health policy and scientific and health innovation.
Requests for corporate political contributions are made by or to Gilead’s Government Affairs group, led by the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Policy. The Senior Vice President then reviews and approves the corporate political contributions. Political contributions are made without regard to private political preferences of the company officers and executives.
In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the use of corporate funds to make independent expenditures on behalf of candidates is permissible. We have not made and do not plan to make any independent expenditures on behalf of federal, state or local candidates in the future. If our position on making independent expenditures changes, that declaration would be made on this website and such activities (including recipient names and amounts given) would be disclosed here. Additionally, Gilead does not currently contribute funds intended for use in elections to 501(c)(4) organizations but, should such a contribution be made in the future, it would be listed with Gilead’s other corporate political contributions.
Transparency
In the interest of transparency for our stockholders and other stakeholders, we are making available information regarding our political contributions. These lists will be updated and posted to this website semi-annually. The information will also be provided to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board.
Contributions to federal candidates made by the Gilead PAC can be found via the links below.
As noted above, Gilead has made contributions at the state and local level where permissible. Click on the link below to view reports of Gilead's corporate contributions to state and local political candidates, political parties, political committees, ballot initiatives and other political organizations established under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code.
January – December 2022 Corporate Political Contributions
Questions about political corporate contributions should be directed to: Corporate Secretary, Gilead Sciences, Inc., 333 Lakeside Drive, Foster City, California 94404.
Political Contributions Archive
Historical records of our political contributions are available.
Trade Associations
Gilead also participates in the public policy process through its involvement with trade associations. By working with other companies in our industry and with similar interests, we can amplify our voice on the issues that matter most. Gilead regularly evaluates our involvement with trade associations and has established processes to address instances when an association takes a position that runs contrary to our policy interests. These processes include the preparation of reports that evaluate the congruency between the trade association’s positions and those of Gilead. The Nominating and Governance Committee also reviews all payments to trade associations. Examples of trade associations of which Gilead is a member include: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Biotechnology Industry Organization and California Life Sciences Association.
Click on the link below to view a list of trade organizations to which Gilead pays more than $25,000 in membership dues or other payments, and to the extent available to us, the portion of those payments that were used for activities that are not deductible under Chapter 162(e) of the Internal Revenue Code.
January – December 2022 Non-Deductible Portion of Payments to Trade Associations
Engagement with Government Officials
Gilead lobbies at the federal and state levels to educate government officials on the issues that matter to our company and the patients we serve.
At the federal level, Gilead is a lobbying registrant pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act. As a lobbying registrant, Gilead files quarterly reports with the U.S. Congress that include a good faith estimate of Gilead's total lobbying expenditures during the quarter and that list the issues and agencies it lobbied during the period. Gilead's quarterly lobbying reports are publicly available here. In 2021, Gilead's reported good faith estimate of expenses for federal lobbying activities was $8,180,000. This figure includes compensation and benefits paid to employees engaged in lobbying activities, payments to outside lobbying firms, lobbying-related expenses, and the portion of trade association dues paid by Gilead that are attributable to lobbying.
As reflected in Gilead's lobbying reports, Gilead has educated policymakers regarding the following issues, among others: international trade and protection of intellectual property, drug pricing proposals, expanding access to HIV treatment and prevention therapies, hepatitis C screening and linkage to care programs, coverage and reimbursement policies, clinical trial diversity, COVID-19 treatments, Medicaid and Medicare coverage, oncology products, value-based purchasing arrangements, public health appropriations, and corporate tax rates and related laws.
At the state level, Gilead complies with state lobbying registration and reporting requirements. A chart with links to public lobbying reports filed by Gilead at the state level, in the states where Gilead is registered as a lobbying principal or where Gilead employees were registered lobbyists as of Jan. 1, 2021 is available here.
Gilead also engages in lobbying activities in countries outside the United States. Information about Gilead's lobbying activities outside the United States is available in this chart.