Biotech Company Gilead Criticized for AIDS Drug Supply

On Tuesday, Doctors Without Borders (DWB) said an April 2003 pledge by Gilead Sciences Inc. to make its HIV drug Viread available throughout Africa and in 15 developing nations elsewhere "at no profit" has been an "empty promise."

Since the announcement of the Gilead Access Program, touted by several company press releases, Gilead has slashed Viread's price in 97 countries to $208 per patient annually. Viread costs nearly $5,000 per patient annually in wealthier nations.

But since Gilead has failed to receive regulatory approvals in 91 of those countries, patient access to Viread is virtually impossible, said DWB. Three other drug companies have won regulatory approval of expanded access programs for inexpensive HIV drugs, DWB said. But Gilead's inaction has made it difficult for doctors to procure Viread, which is used in two popular treatment regimens.

"The process for approval has been more time consuming than we had anticipated," said Gilead spokesperson Amy Flood. "This is a commitment that Gilead takes very seriously." An initial hope to gain temporary import approvals had proved too difficult, she said. The company has provided reduced-cost Viread to about 20,000 patients, Flood said.

But DWB's Daniel Berman said Gilead "has been extremely disingenuous." "Gilead's access program is a lie," said Berman.

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