PrEP4All and PIPLI Commend DOJ for Continuing to Press Its Case in U.S. v. Gilead

PrEP4All commends the Department of Justice (DOJ) for taking action and urging a Delaware federal judge to overturn the recent verdict in US v. Gilead, which, should it stand, would let Gilead off the hook for infringing on patents held by the federal government. On May 17th, PrEP4All along with the Public Interest Patent Law Institute (PIPLI) and with legal representatives from Columbia Law School's Science, Health, and Information Clinic released a statement expressing extreme disappointment in the verdict in U.S. v. Gilead and calling on DOJ to continue to press its case and potentially call for a new trial.

Taxpayers have invested at least $143 million in research that led to FDA approval of the first drugs to be used for PrEP to prevent HIV. Gilead has benefited significantly from this public investment and raked in billions of dollars while those most vulnerable to HIV have continued to face coverage and access barriers due to the high price of the medication- over $2000 per 30 day supply.

According to STAT News, the government asserts that it "'presented overwhelming evidence' that Gilead failed to show sufficient proof that the patents were invalid and, in fact, had been infringed." In its complaint, the government contends that "Gilead has repeatedly refused to obtain a license from CDC to use the patented regimens."

We call on Judge Noreika to heed the government's request. Much is at stake for communities affected by HIV/AIDS. In January 2022, PrEP4All and other advocacy organizations released a letter demanding that the U.S. government publicly commit to using royalties from U.S. v. Gilead to increase access to PrEP through a national PrEP program. Hundreds of thousands of new HIV infections have occurred in our communities since PrEP was approved in 2012; it is time for Gilead to be held accountable for its central role in undercutting PrEP access to marginalized communities, and for funds to be reinvested in ending HIV as an epidemic for all communities in America.