Study on generic HIV drugs prompts AHF to demand Gilead cuts ARV prices

A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that provides a snapshot of a simplified cost/benefit analysis of the potential economic savings gained by use of generic antiretroviral therapy to treat people with HIV/AIDS versus the slightly reduced efficacy of the drugs prompted advocates from the USA-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) to reiterate its call on Gilead Sciences, a key maker of branded AIDS drugs, to reduce pricing on its key AIDS drugs such as Atripla (efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate).and Stribild (elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), as patents expire.

The study reported that billions of dollars in health care cost savings could be achieved through the use of generic antiretroviral therapy; however, the study also reported slightly reduced efficacy of the generic drugs.

“The differences in efficacy of the drugs reported in this study are largely a result of pill burden, because patients must often take the generic drugs separately and/or at more than one time per day versus the all-in-one, once-a-day convenience of many branded combinations like Gilead’s Atripla,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “However, these generic medications are still clearly effective, as evidenced by the success of global AIDS programs which have provided lifesaving treatment using generic drugs to millions of people in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world,” he added.