AIDS Groups Call on New York AG to Investigate Pay-For-Delay by Gilead

Two AIDS patient advocacy groups urged New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman — a frequent foe of anticompetitive behavior by drugmakers — to investigate potential pay-for-delay deals by Gilead.

In a letter to Schneiderman’s office, ACT UP and the Treatment Action Group said Gilead may have entered into agreements to delay competition for its HIV treatment Truvada.

The FDA approved a Teva generic for Truvada in June, but a settlement between Teva and Gilead ensured it would not be marketed until 2021 at the earliest, the letter notes. That date falls close to the expiration of the patents challenged in Teva’s lawsuit with Gilead.