The Trump administration wins its battle with HIV: a huge donation of prevention drugs



[ad_1]

On Thursday, President Trump, who said in February that his administration was aiming to end the HIV epidemic in the US by 10 years, announced that his administration had successfully collaborated with a pharmaceutical company to initiate a historic donation to eliminate the HIV problem. in America.

Trump said on Twitter: "Excellent news today: my administration has just obtained a historic donation of HIV prevention drugs from Gilead to help expand access to PrEP. for uninsured and at-risk people. This will help us reach our goal of ending the HIV epidemic in America! "

The Department of Health and Social Services has released more details:

Secretary of Health and Social Services Alex M. Azar II announced today that following discussions between the Trump administration and Gilead Sciences, Inc., the drug company had agreed to donate drugs for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to up to 200,000 people. every year for 11 years. PrEP is used to reduce the risk of HIV infection in people at high risk of HIV infection. It has been proven that it reduces the risk of new infection up to 97% if it is taken regularly.

The agreement between the US Department of Health and Human Services and Gilead will last at least December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2030, and will provide drugs to treat people at risk of contracting HIV and those who are not not insured. This donation will distribute Gilead's Truvada PrEP drug, which has a list price of more than $ 20,000 per patient per year, to 200,000 people annually, including states and counties identified as priority areas. in the Trump – PDF plan to end the HIV epidemic in America.

Gilead will donate Truvada until his second-generation HIV prevention drug, Descovy, is available. At this point, Gilead will donate Descovy. The agreement ends after 11 years, or when a generic version of Descovy becomes commercially available, whichever comes first. The government has agreed to cover the costs associated with the distribution of drugs.

Azar issued a statement:

Ensuring this commitment is a major step in the Trump administration 's efforts to use the prevention and treatment tools we have to end the HIV epidemic in America by 2030. Under the leadership of President Trump, HHS has worked with Gilead to ensure preventative medications to people who would not otherwise have it. be able to access or pay for this important treatment. The majority of Americans who are at risk and who could protect themselves with PrEP still do not receive the drugs. This agreement will help to significantly reduce this gap and deliver on President Trump's promise to end the HIV epidemic in America.

According to the CDC, "By the end of 2016, about 1.1 million people aged 13 and over were infected with HIV in the United States, of which 162,500 (14%) whose infection had not been infected. has been diagnosed … Around the world, about 1.8 million new HIV cases in 2017. Approximately 36.9 million people are living with HIV worldwide. An estimated 940,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2017. "

[ad_2]

Source link