AHF Crowns Gilead Corporate Welfare King

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) condemns Gilead Sciences’ greed as the drug company giant gloats over its latest quarterly financial results. The only thing new is the numbers detailing the parasitic profits from one of the worst epidemics to hit humanity. Gilead reported that sales increased by 12% to $7.6 billion across its HIV treatment portfolio compared to the same period last year. Biktarvy sales accounted for half of HIV product revenues, increasing by 7% to $3.8 billion compared to the same quarter in 2025.

Never forget that the American taxpayer underwrites the basic research for the drugs that Gilead sells. Gilead then exploits government largesse by selling drugs to the taxpayer financed healthcare system in Medicare and Medicaid plus the health insurance plans subsidized by the Affordable Care Act and the Ryan White AIDS Drug Assistance Program. At the state level, taxpayer dollars augment the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), which provide low-income Americans with medications they could never afford without assistance. Perhaps Gilead should thank the taxpayer for not just subsidizing its research & development costs but creating markets for its products financed by taxpayer dollars.

Nice gig if you can get it. The public assumes all the risk while Gilead reaps the profits. The phrase corporate welfare does not go far enough in describing this travesty.

Meanwhile, Gilead refuses to offer voluntary licenses for low- and middle-income countries in Central and South America to manufacture generic versions of its ultra-expensive HIV treatment options. Refusing license agreements is not the only way Gilead hinders access to its best therapeutics. The drug maker is stiff arming the global south by denying bulk purchase discount requests for Lenacapavir from Doctors Without Borders. The humanitarian aid organization wants the HIV prevention drug for its medical programs in countries that have no hope of affording the drug on their own. Gilead is making sure that no country, irrespective of need, will access its blockbuster injectable at a discount.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 3.2 million individuals across 50 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. In January 2025, AHF received the MLK, Jr. Social Justice Award, The King Center’s highest recognition for an organization leading work in the social justice arena. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

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