Tell Gilead it is not right to increase their already high prices

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Contact: Lynda Dee

lyndamdeeaol

410-332-1170

February 27, 2012

Meyers Alton Coy Stout

Poole

Amy

Flood Cara

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

333 Lakeside Drive

Forest City, CA 94404

RE: Recent Gilead Drug Price Increases

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are writing in response to your latest antiretroviral price increases. We are dismayed that Gilead has imposed a 7.9%

price increase on Truvada and agreed to a 7.3

% increase on Complera and a 6.6% increase

on Atripla in January of 2012. Because the

Fair

Pricing Coalition (FPC) has been unable to convince Gilead to take no more than

one annual price increase in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), we have enlisted

the

assistance of the larger HIV community in this effort.

We have been urging Gilead to refrain from taking more than one annual price

increase no greater than the CPI for many years. In October of 2009, the FPC

wrote to our industry partners, including Gilead, about the crisis in access to HIV medication, resulting, in part, from repeated industry price increases taken continuously over

a short

period of time. Gilead has constantly been

one of the worst offenders in this regard.

While we salute Gilead for its commitment to AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) as well as its co-pay and Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs), we are astounded

at

how Gilead diminishes the benefit of its philanthropy with these continuous price

increases. It is essential that you understand the negative impact of your actions on

people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). Since our original 2009 letter, Gilead has

raised prices three times each for Viread and Truvada for a total of 22.1% and

24.5% respectively; twice for Emtriva for a total of 15.3%,and agreed to four price increases on

for

Atripla, totaling 21%, and agreed to a 7.3% price increase for Complera. These

increases are dramatically higher than the rate of inflation. They also come at a time when

many people with HIV have lost their jobs, their employer-based insurance

coverage and, in many instances, their ADAP coverage, all resulting in desperate patients

attempting to access HIV drugs on the open market, a market plagued with constantly increasing drug prices.

As U. S. economic stagnation persists, PLWHAs continue to lose jobs, income,

health care benefits and

ADAP coverage. At the same time, third party payers are imposing higher premiums as a direct result of escalating drug prices. Some patients have abruptly stopped treatment because they can no longer afford their medications. Although

PAPs exist to help people who cannot

afford medication, barriers to access are

significant. Many people are unaware of the existence of PAPs. Others cannot cope with

the

labyrinth of multiple forms and requirements. Even with Gilead’s PAP eligibility at

500% of the Federal Poverty Level, a PLWHA earning $56,000.00 annually is not PAP eligible and

will

have to pay $20,000.00 or more to purchase Atripla at retail prices. This

figure represents at least two-thirds

of their net income.

The pharmaceutical industry’s extravagant price increases reverberate throughout the healthcare industry. They come at

a time when many ADAPs are covering private

insurance payments for their clients

and result in ADAPs paying significantly increased premiums as a result of exorbitant price increases. This policy also results in higher premiums for people with HIV who are insured at a time when more and more people

have less and less income due to unemployment, underemployment, reduced wages and

reduced hours. Moreover, higher healthcare costs mean higher co-pays and pharmacy deductibles for people with private insurance and high share-of-cost plans which also

result in increased costs to patients as well as decreased benefits. More restrictive access within insurance plans affects

the cost of drugs, but also ancillary services, such as mental health, prevention healthcare, rehabilitation and substance abuse services.

Escalating costs for private and employee healthcare plans occasioned by continuous

drug pricing increases will undoubtedly have a deleterious effect on the states as they design their health care exchanges in preparation for the 2014 implementation of

the

Affordable Care Act

(ACA). Many states are likely to set a minimum standard for

drug coverage for their “essential health benefits†package that requires only limited

coverage of

antiretrovirals and other higher cost drug classes. Additionally, with non- preferred generic antiretrovirals entering the marketplace we are concerned that higher

drug prices will increasingly result in key coverage decisions being driven by cost

rather

than the standard of care for HIV treatment.

From our perspective, much of this crisis is occasioned by irresponsible

pharmaceutical industry behavior. We firmly believe that Gilead’s price increases are

particularly egregious because Gilead currently has the lion’s share of the antiretroviral

market.

We believe that the best way to begin to address these issues is for industry to

change its price increase practices and

agree to the following:

- Gilead must agree to take no more than one CPI consistent price increase annually.

- Gilead must use its sales force to disseminate information regarding its PAP and

co-pay programs.

- Gilead must contribute to foundations that

provide co-pay program access to

Medicare Part D clients.

- Gilead must cooperate with the FPC and other stakeholders in designing and

implementing a seamless, industry-wide standardized PAP criteria and enrollment process.

Now is the time for Gilead to reconsider its price increase policy and rescind its

latest unreasonable price increases. We sincerely hope that Gilead will agree to the above

and we look forward to your immediate response.

Yours truly,

The Fair Pricing Coalition

and the Undersigned Organizations

AIDS

Action Baltimore, Baltimore, MD

AIDS

Treatment Activists Coalition, New York, NY Community Access Network, Washington, DC

HIV

Prevention Justice Alliance, Chicago, IL Program for Wellness Restoration, Houston, TX Regards, VergelPoWeRUSA.org