Washington Post: Gilead delayed safer HIV drug to extend monopoly profits, advocates allege
“…An HIV-prevention group called PrEP4All Collaboration filed a petition Wednesday with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office contending Gilead knew its new, improved drug — approved in 2015 and now part of Gilead’s combination therapies Genvoya and Descovy — was safer. But it alleged Gilead postponed development so it could continue to gain monopoly profits from its older combination HIV drugs, including Viread and Truvada, for a longer period, before those drugs went off patent and faced generic competition. Gilead used the delaying tactic even though the older drugs posed more risks to bone and kidney health, PrEP4All alleged…” (Rowland, 12/5).