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AIDS Activists Storm Gilead's Booth at International AIDS Conference in D.C.

Protestors call attention to Gilead's price-gouging, while CEO John Martin
becomes the 10th highest paid CEO in the U.S.

July 25, 2012 - Wearing masks of drug company Gilead Sciences’ CEO John Martin, more than 50 HIV/AIDS activists—spearheaded by AIDS Healthcare Foundation—stormed Gilead’s booth at the International AIDS Conference in Washington D.C. this morning.

The group wrapped the large, room-like booth in caution tape while chanting slogans, such as: “Hey hey, ho ho, Gilead’s prices have got to go” and “Medication for every nation.” At one point, the protestors lay down like corpses to symbolize the life or death stakes involved. In the U.S., more than 2,000 Americans in nine states are on waiting lists to receive lifesaving AIDS medications because government funding simply cannot keep up with the high prices for medications, such as Gilead's Truvada.

Meanwhile, Gilead’s CEO John Martin earns more than $42 million per year, making him the 10th highest paid CEO in the U.S., according to the most recent Forbes List.

In Related News…

‘The AIDS Financial Crisis:
Life or Death for Millions’

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a thought-provoking satellite session at the International AIDS Conference in D.C. tonight, July 25th at 6:30 pm in Mini Room 8 titled: ‘The AIDS Financial Crisis: Life or Death for Millions.’

Diverse panel members—including Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent, VT); Dr. Jorge Saavedra, Global Ambassador (AHF); Carlos Avila, Dir. of Health Financing at ABT Assoc. (AIDS economist); Sebastian Linnemayr (RAND Corporation); Matthew Kavanagh (HealthGAP) and Dr. Cheick Tidiane Tall (AfriCASO)—will address the U.S. and global HIV/AIDS funding crisis as the financial gap between existing funding and the amount of money needed to treat all those who need it widens.

The session will include a discussion about drug-pricing and its impact on treatment numbers and a look at a recent Rand study: Negotiation Strategies for Antiretroviral Drug Purchasers in the United States.

The session will be moderated by AHF President, Michael Weinstein.