HIV Drug Settlement Reached to Resolve Class Action Over Truvada, Stribild, Other Antiretrovirals
Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve its part in the class action lawsuit over HIV drugs with allegedly inflated prices.
A tentative settlement agreement has been announced to partially resolve a class action lawsuit over HIV drugs that were allegedly overpriced, due to anticompetitive conduct by Gilead and several other major manufacturers of antiretroviral medications.
According to a press release issued on December 30, Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve claims over its alleged participation in a scheme with Gilead, Johnson & Johnson and some of their subsidiaries to artificially inflate the prices of widely used HIV drugs, including Atripla, Biktarvy, Complera, Descovy, Evotaz, Genvoya, Odefsey, Prezcobix, Stribild, Symtiza, Truvada and Viread.
The lawsuit claims that activities among these companies, and how they handled the pricing of antiretroviral drugs, resulted in consumers and third-party payors (TPPs) overpaying for the critical treatments.
The HIV drug settlement, which has not yet received final approval, only resolves claims against Bristol-Myers Squibb, who will contribute $10 million into a fund and agreed not enforce certain contractual provisions it made in a deal with Gilead, which plaintiffs say led to them overpaying for the drug Evotaz. The settlement does not affect the ongoing claims against Gilead and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen subsidiary, which the press release notes have not been resolved.
A judge is expected to determine whether the settlement can be finalized at a hearing scheduled for April 28, 2022. Details on the settlement agreement, who is affected and how to receive payment are available at the settlement website, www.HIVdrugsettlement.com.
The claims raised in the class action complaint do not include any alleged injuries caused by the medications. However, Gilead faces thousand of separate HIV drug lawsuits filed by plaintiffs nationwide, each raising similar allegations that its line of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) HIV drugs exposed users to toxic side effects, even though the drug maker was aware that safer formulations existed for years.
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Kidney and bone injuries linked to the HIV drugs Truvada, Viread, Atripla, Complera and Stribild may have been avoided.
Learn More About this Lawsuit See If You Qualify Now >In addition to claims Gilead conspired with other drug manufacturers to retain its patents on TDF-based HIV drugs and thus artificially inflate prices, consumers claim the TDF-based medications were more toxic than they had to be, since Gilead was already aware of a safer alternative, using the HIV drug compound tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF), which could be taken at lower doses and be equally as effective.
Rather than introducing the safer HIV drugs, the drug maker decided to sit on the development and continued to market the Gilead TDF drugs for years. However, once it started to face competition from generic equivalents for Truvada, Atripla, Stribild, Viread and other TDF drugs, Gilead introduced and began aggressively marketing versions of the medications with the HIV drug compound TAF.
As a result of the apparent decision to place profits before consumer safety, plaintiffs in the separate personal injury lawsuits allege they suffered various injuries from toxic effects from the TDF HIV drugs, including low kidney function, bone demineralization, osteoporosis, and bone fractures.
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2 Comments
MarkMarch 12, 2023 at 11:05 am
Is rated Truvada when it first was out on the market. I am a pioneer for the m, at that time) AIDS drugs. I was in 4 clinical trials. I have been on Viread and toxic drugs. I have been telling students for years that the Parma Co are full of lies and deceit. My husband and I wrote an 8 part 8 hour workshop and was presenting to medical schools and organizations. We were very vocal on our distrust [Show More]Is rated Truvada when it first was out on the market. I am a pioneer for the m, at that time) AIDS drugs. I was in 4 clinical trials. I have been on Viread and toxic drugs. I have been telling students for years that the Parma Co are full of lies and deceit. My husband and I wrote an 8 part 8 hour workshop and was presenting to medical schools and organizations. We were very vocal on our distrust if Bug Pharma. Being very active in the HIV/AIDS we were representatives for the patients needed at drug forum with the Pharma Companies, Doctors, Nurses ARCA and AIDS Organizations. We were not allowed ask questions or make comments. We heard disgusting conversations talking down to us like lab rats. We knew at that time the Companies prices were extravagant and profits were enormous. Just one if the drugs then cost less than a dollar to make and market Yet they cost almost $2,000 a script. Said it was so expensive as they needed the profits for research. Another lie. The last comment we heard was they would give the drug to a certain number of patients through an assisted program and “that should quiet those people down”. We were not heard or listened to anyone. My spouse is sensitive to side affects in all the drugs. He has suffered for the last 28 years from side affects. He has had 3 hip replacements (started with (prednisone high dies) taken because of Bacterium depleted whit blood cells. Then with HIV drugs, I believe excerpted the narcosis causing two more hip replacements. He has severe neuropathy, anxiety pain. chronic pain, intestinal issues and more from these drugs. Severe fatigue so bad he can’t get out of his chair at times and more. My kidneys were on the verge of kidney disease and I quit Truvada and so far am stable. I experience the more common side affects like neuropathy, dizziness, muscle weakness and stomach issues. We are long term survivors (diagnosed in 1987) but many times wished we hadn’t. Our quality of life is not conducive for happiness or comfortable. In fact it gets more stressful and we suffer from panic attacks. Nobody would listen. We weren’t heard. Why we have lived so long is a question we ask ourselves. But by living this long we were able to give all our friends and dozens of others comfort while dying. I cannot and do not want to let go of the anger of being used for profits, ignored by government, society and religion , our three worst terrorist groups. I truly hope they have to put people before profits and are not just given pocket change fines but they also should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. Thank you letting me speak out. I am now 71 years old and I am heart broken that that most people now do not know what we went through and going through. If they knew, they could fight back as it is happening all over again. Selective untaught history will repeat.
ShaleneAugust 22, 2022 at 4:43 am
I took complete and odefecy and backtarvy and have been diagnosed with medication enduced osteoporosis suffered shattered hip broken leg