California protest is one of three PROTESTS targeting Gilead that AHF has set for Thurs., Dec 1^st, with the other two taking place in Washington, D.C. and Miami, all at local Gilead offices

Advocates target Gilead’s insatiable greed and its drug pricing and policies, including illegal restrictions the drug company places for certain pharmacies on access to 340B drug pricing for Gilead’s branded hepatitis C treatments

On World AIDS Day, Thursday, December 1^st, advocates and mobilizers affiliated with AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), will host a protest in OCEANSIDE, CA targeting drug maker Gilead Sciences over the Bay Area company’s drug pricing and policies. The California protest is part of a series of three same-day protests across the U.S. targeting Gilead’s greed. The nationwide protests will take place the same morning on Thursday, December 1^st in Washington, D.C. (9:00 a.m. EST), Miami, Florida (11:30 a.m. EST), and in San Diego/Oceanside, California (10:30 a.m. PST).

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AHF held earlier protests targeting Gilead Sciences over its greed in its drug pricing and policies, particularly on its HIV and hepatitis C medications. This image of a mobile billboard criticizing Gilead is from an AHF protest at Gilead's headquarters in Foster City, Calif., held in October 2022. (Photo: Business Wire)

Advocates are protesting Gilead over its profound and tone-deaf greed with pricing and policies, particularly illegal restrictions the company placed earlier this year on access to 340B drug pricing for its branded hepatitis C treatments for certain pharmacies. Gilead is now one of over 15 major drug companies that have illegally placed such restrictions on its drugs.

According to a 340B Report article from March, Gilead became the 15th drug manufacturer to place unlawful restrictions on 340B contract pharmacy programs. Lawyers for the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) in both the Biden and Trump administrations have said these restrictions are clearly illegal, yet drug companies like Gilead continue to forge ahead with the lawbreaking in search of even greater profits.

AHF’s World AIDS Day Gilead protests follow a weeklong, twice-daily series of protests in late October targeting Gilead, maker of most of the key and most effective HIV medications and Hepatitis C drugs, at its headquarters in Foster City, CA. AHF also previously protested Gilead’s greed and actions on four separate occasions during the spring and summer at the Bay Area drug maker’s headquarters.

The 340B drug pricing program is administered by the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). It has helped provide low-cost medications and better health outcomes for millions of Americans through the nonprofit clinics and hospitals that serve them. Safety net providers like Ryan White providers, who serve patients living with HIV, have the right under the 340B statute to purchase drugs at a discounted price. In March, Gilead put profits before patients by unilaterally imposing unlawful conditions on when and how it will give discounts for certain Hepatitis C drugs.

“Gilead continues to demonstrate insatiable greed and avarice, showing it really cares FAR more about money than saving people’s lives. On World AIDS Day, we vow to keep holding Gilead and CEO Daniel O’Day accountable, whenever and wherever we can,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “Drug company profiteering and the abuse of lifesaving programs like 340B and community pharmacies nationwide by Gilead and others simply must stop!”

AHF mobilizers and advocates will be also deploying social media in real time at many of these Gilead protests and will be using hashtags: #PeopleBeforeProfit - #GreedyGilead

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.7 million individuals in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth, follow us @aidshealthcare or subscribe to our AHF podcast “AHFter Hours.”

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Gilead became the 15th drug company to place unlawful restrictions on 340B contract pharmacy programs. Lawyers for the Health & Human Services Department (HHS) in both the Biden AND Trump administrations have said these restrictions are clearly illegal.