Critics Slam Gilead For Halting Development Of Less-Toxic HIV Treatment
They say the company made the decision so that it could continue to reap patent-protected profits from its earlier version. Gilead denies the claims.
Los Angeles Times:
A Question Of Timing: A Lawsuit Claims Gilead Sciences Could Have Developed A Less-Harmful Version Of Its HIV Treatment Sooner
More than a decade ago, researchers at Gilead Sciences thought they had a breakthrough: a new version of the company’s key HIV medicine that was less toxic to kidneys and bones. Clinical trials of the new compound on HIV-positive patients in Los Angeles and several other cities seemed to support their optimism. Patients needed just a fraction of the dose, creating the chance of far fewer dangerous side effects. But in 2004, just as the Foster City biotech firm was preparing for a second and larger round of patient studies, Gilead executives stopped the research. ... More than six years later, though, in 2010, Gilead restarted those trials. The new version of the drug, which the company says is safer, was approved in November under the brand name Genvoya. ... critics believe the new, less harmful form of the drug could have been developed sooner – and wasn’t because the company wanted to extend its patent-protected profits. (Petersen, 5/29)