Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

PrEP options likely to change following Truvada patent expiration
by Matt Simonette
2021-03-04

This article shared 3575 times since Thu Mar 4, 2021
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Among the myriad challenges facing HIV/AIDS advocates and healthcare providers has been increasing use of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, among persons at risk for HIV transmission. A PrEP intervention, which usually consists of taking the oral medication Truvada, has been shown to decrease the risk of transmission by more than 90 percent.

Truvada was approved for PrEP use by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012 and, since then, has been widely prescribed by physicians to help at-risk patients prevent HIV transmission (it was earlier used to treat persons living with HIV). But Truvada's patent expiration in 2020 means both generic options for consumers are forthcoming and that a competing drug, Descovy, by the same manufacturer, is already on the market.

Some advocates are looking forward to having lower-cost options available. AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) Senior Director of Prevention Advocacy and Gay Men's Health Jim Pickett suspects that "lower drug costs will lower the cost of access and alleviate some pressure on the system."

He added, "With PrEP, the costs are not just about the drug. There are costs affiliated with seeing your doctor, having blood work done, being tested for HIV and STI's. It's important to remember that services that come along with PrEP are part of the program—PrEP isn't just a prescription. If our system can spend less on the drug, there's arguably more money to cover those other things which can be prohibitive for people."

The cost of Truvada—which is a combination of the drugs known generically as tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine—has indeed been a key deterrent to widespread PrEP implementation. A month's supply of the medication is often $1,500-2,000. Nevertheless, many insurers cover Truvada in their formularies, and the medication's manufacturer, Foster City, California-based Gilead Sciences, provides consumer assistance for monthly co-payments their plans require.

Various public health agencies have also made PrEP access a central component to long-term strategies that eliminate new HIV transmissions, such as the Getting to Zero initiative launched in Illinois in late 2018. The federal government announced a similar program with PrEP interventions playing a central role in early 2019.

Nevertheless, PrEP adoption numbers remain far behind where advocates and providers want to see them. Getting the message about PrEP to white gay men has been a relatively minimal challenge, but communicating that same message to diverse audiences at risk, such as transgender women or young Black men, remains problematic. Usage in the southern United States, where a large number of new HIV transmissions take place, is also low.

In late 2019, Gilead announced it would donate a five-year supply of Truvada to 200,000 people. Their Truvada patent expired in late 2020. The company reached an exclusivity agreement for six months Israeli pharmaceutical manufacturer Teva for a generic version of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine. Starting in spring 2021, Teva's exclusivity window expires and any manufacturer can produce a generic version of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine.

Gilead still intends to remain a player in manufacturing and distributing medications for PrEP, however. In 2019, it received approval for use of Descovy as a PrEP intervention and has aggressively marketed the new drug as a replacement for Truvada. Google users who search "Truvada generic" will likely spot an advertisement for Descovy toward the top of their results.

Among the advantages of Descovy, according to Gilead, are reduced chances of complications to kidneys or bone density, which are stated side-effects to Truvada. But Descovy shares the same high cost as Truvada, about $16,600-20,000 a year, according to aidsmap.com .

Many advocates and providers say that there is no need for a "mass exodus" from Truvada to Descovy for PrEP users, Pickett said.

"In terms of prescribing for PrEP, the vast majority of people using Truvada for PrEP have absolutely zero clinical need to switch over to Descovy," he added. "The only clinical reason to switch would be if you have some underlying kidney or bone disease, or if Truvada is giving your kidneys a hard time."

Gilead could not provide a spokesperson to comment on Descovy by this article's deadline. Shortly after Descovy was approved for PrEP in October 2019, Daniel O'Day, Gilead's chairman and CEO, said the new medication nevertheless "provides a new HIV prevention option that matches Truvada's high efficacy with statistically significant improvements in renal and bone safety, which can be an important consideration as people at risk increasingly use PrEP for longer periods of time."

Prior to her appointment as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, MD, was lead author on a March 2020 Annals of Internal Medicine study which concluded that mitigating for Truvada's side-effects with a new medication was outweighed by the benefits of a lower-cost generic substitute for Truvada. Other researchers also have expressed concern that Descovy has not been tested on as diverse a population as Truvada has been.

"We already are seeing insurance companies pointing people to the generic alternative—when you are prescribed PrEP, the insurance company might cover the generic form of Truvada," Pickett said. "They may or may not be inclined to cover Truvada itself. We are also seeing insurance companies put in utilization-management for Descovy, so if you are prescribed Descovy, the doctor has to show clinical need."

Gilead has also been involved in extensive litigation with the federal government regarding the PrEP-related patents. The CDC sued the company in 2019, maintaining that it had not been properly compensated for federal researchers' contributions to Truvada and Descovy's development. In January 2021, a federal judge rejected the Justice Department's motion to dismiss Gilead's counterclaims that the federal government had been in breach of key contracts, so the litigation will continue.

But for now, a key challenge for stakeholders remains getting the costs under control. Using PrEP represents a collective commitment of time and money for patients, providers and insurers.

In the years ahead, the PrEP landscape will likely change even further. An injectable version of the intervention has proven to be as effective as oral applications. In such a scenario, the medication cabotegravir could be injected and offer two months' worth of protection for patients who don't wish to take a pill every day.

Pickett said he didn't foresee injectable PrEP completely replacing pills however, noting that compliance challenges might only shift for some consumers. While the injection saves the patient from the responsibility of taking a pill, they'd still need a bimonthly appointment to receive it.

"I don't see it as replacing [oral medication]—I see it as being additive," Pickett said. "I see it drawing in people who struggle with PrEP because it is a pill, or aren't interested because it's a pill. Overall, if we do it right and create support systems that make it easy for people to get their shots—imagine being able to do it at Walgreens—I'll be super-excited about it. It means people having more options and more protection."


This article shared 3575 times since Thu Mar 4, 2021
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

HIV criminal laws disproportionately impact Black men in Mississippi 2024-02-21
--From a press release - A new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that at least 43 people in Mississippi were arrested for HIV-related crimes between 2004 and 2021. Half of all arrests in the state ...


Gay News

'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19
- In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...


Gay News

$200,000+ raised at AIDS Foundation Chicago's World of Chocolate Fundraiser to fight HIV/AIDS 2024-02-13
--From a press release - (Chicago, IL) More than 950 guests gathered at Chicago's famed Union Station (500 W. Jackson) for Chicago's Sweetest Fundraiser, AIDS Foundation Chicago's (AFC), World of Chocolate on Friday, February 9. ...


Gay News

Munar prepares to step away from Howard Brown leadership 2024-02-11
- After 10 years of leadership at Howard Brown Health, President and CEO David Ernesto Munar has decided to step down from his post on Feb. 29. Munar, who'd previously been president and CEO of AIDS Foundation ...


Gay News

National Black Justice Coalition commemorates National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2024-02-07
--From a press release - WASHINGTON — Today, Feb. 7, marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). In commemoration, Dr. David J. Johns, CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), a leading Black LGBTQ+/same-gender ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Wis. report, gender dysphoria, HIV research, Stonewall exhibit, gay CEOs 2024-01-19
- A new annual report from Wisconsin's Office of Children's Mental Health shows that the state's minors—especially girls, children of color and LGBTQ+ youth—continue to struggle with anxiety, depression and thoughts ...


Gay News

WORLD Activist honored, marriages in Estonia, Madrid law, trans sports item 2024-01-05
Video below - The National AIDS Commission (NAC) recently honored Caleb Orozco—a leading figure in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Belize—for his instrumental contributions to the national HIV response, BNN reported. According ...


Gay News

SAVOR World of Chocolate, Jaleo and 'Superhot' 2023-12-31
- World of wonder: I am excited to announce that I will be a judge at AIDS Foundation Chicago's World of Chocolate fundraiser! Join me in sampling delicious chocolate from local chefs and help support a great ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Frankie Franklin-Foxx 2023-12-18
- Frankie Franklin-Foxx (born Waverlynn Franklin), a resident of Chicago's North Side, passed away peacefully Dec. 13 at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. She was 68. Born at Cook County Hospital, Frankie graduated from South Shore High ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Dr. Rachel Levine, World AIDS Day, trans deaths, Philly bar art 2023-12-08
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Liles C. Burke ruled that emails and other records from U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine are relevant to a lawsuit challenging Alabama's ban ...


Gay News

STRUT marks World AIDS Day with 14th Annual Fashion Show 2023-12-05
- On Dec. 3, John Fleming and Madman Productions presented the 14th annual STRUT fashion show at Joe's on Weed Street, 940 W. Weed St. As in previous years, the standing room only show was a fundraiser, ...


Gay News

World AIDS Day commemorated at AIDS Garden Chicago 2023-12-03
- On the rainy morning of Dec. 1, Chicago Parks Foundation and the AIDS Garden Chicago Board of Directors hosted a World AIDS Day commemoration at AIDS Garden Chicago, just south of Belmont Harbor on the Lakefront. ...


Gay News

GLAAD marks World AIDS Day with launch of global resource hub, new HIV report 2023-12-01
--From a press release - New York, New York — Friday, Dec. 1 — GLAAD marked World AIDS Day this year by sharing the results of its fourth annual State of HIV Stigma Report, a national survey among U.S. adults measuring ...


Gay News

Wrightwood 659 to present 'Daniel Goldstein: The Marks We Leave Behind' on World AIDS Day 2023-11-29
- (CHICAGO, Nov. 29, 2023) —Alphawood Exhibitions will present Daniel Goldstein: The Marks We Leave Behind, an exhibition of works from the San Francisco-based artist & HIV/AIDS activist's iconic "Icarian Series," ...


Gay News

WTTW doc chronicles the activism of Danny Sotomayor 2023-11-03
- Practically everything the late Chicago AIDS activist Danny Sotomayor did was "a fight." So says fellow activist Victor Salvo in the new WTTW documentary The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor, which is part of the station's Chicago ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.