HIV drugs sold on the black market. Clinics profiting from a charity program. Shady pharmacy owners purchasing mansions and jets.
Such are the accusations Gilead lodged against 58 defendants in a lawsuit alleging they profited illegally from AIDS prevention drugs that it supplies free to people who can't afford them.
"Together, the Kingpin Defendants defrauded Gilead's Charitable program of more than $68 million in less than 2 years through a fraudulent mass enrollment scheme," wrote Gilead attorneys in a slide presentation submitted to the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Gilead settled with some of the key defendants in April for an undisclosed amount. But the attorney for one group insists that her clients have been falsely accused and settled only because the court did not allow them to present their case before freezing their assets.
The accusations stem from Gilead's Medication Assistance Program (MAP) that gives away the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (Truvada) and emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (Descovy).
PrEP drugs reduce the risk of infection from HIV, and the US Preventive Services Task Force has recommended them for anyone at high risk for HIV, such as men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs.
