Stopping traffic outside of @GileadSciences investors mtg. Their outrageous #HepC med prices are killing ppl in need.
VOCAL, ACT UP, @HealthGAP & @TAGTeam_Tweets standing up against Gilead greed! $1000/pill is killing us!
I was trying to get to bed early last night. By two AM, ready to turn in, I checked face book
one more time.
Brandon Cuicchi, of ACT UP NY, had posted the following message:
This morning at
9AM ACT UP New York will be joining Voices Of Community
Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY) in
front of the Wells Fargo at Madison and E49th to march to the Plaza Hotel on
Madison between 50th and 51st. We'll be protesting the high price of Sovaldi
and a rep of Gilead who's speaking at the Baird Health Care Conference. We
should be there until at least 10AM. Join us in protest in midtown Manhattan
this morning/in a few hours at 9AM!
The group would
join VOCAL and TAG for the zap.
The next morning VOCAL-NY tweeted out the messages:
.@GileadSciences is pricing it's #HepC meds at 40,000% of production costs. Their greed is killing
us! @HenryEChang
“Our press release demanding #Gilead reduce the outrageous price of
their #hepc cure http://www.vocal-ny.org/blog/pr-healthcare-labor-advocates-protest-gilead-demand-immediate-hepatitis-c-drug-price-reduction-and-end-to-treatment-rationing/ … #Killead
I rode the train to meet everyone at 49th
street. Members of VOCAL, Jennifer Flynn, Matt Curtis, as well as Michael Tikili,
and Jim Eigo and others from ACT UP were
there.
Matt Handed me a press release declaring:
“Outrageous
pricing by Gilead Pharmaceuticals Causes Worldwide Rationing f Hepatitis C Cure…”
“Healthcare Advocates & Labor
Protest investor Conference to Call for Immediate Price Reduction.”
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE | September 4, 2014
Contact: Matt Curtis,
VOCAL-NY, 646-234-9062, matt@vocal-ny.org or Chelsea-Lyn
Rudder, 1199SEIU, 646-413-2223, ChelseaLyn.Rudder@1199.org
New hepatitis C drugs could stop an epidemic that now claims
more lives in the U.S. than AIDS. An estimated 250,000 New Yorkers are living
with hepatitis C, a viral infection that can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure
and liver cancer. But hepatitis C can be cured with only a few months of
treatment by a combination of drugs that includes Gilead’s Sovaldi as the
backbone.
Gilead is selling Sovaldi for
$1,000 per pill – a price that is causing treatment rationing, according to
advocates. “Public and private payers are restricting access to Sovaldi because
of cost, and withholding treatment from people until they have serious liver
damage. We don’t force HIV-positive people to wait until they have AIDS before
treating them. Should people with hepatitis C go without treatment so Gilead
can make more profit?,” asked Michael Tikili of Health GAP,
a global treatment access advocacy group.
Today healthcare and labor groups protested Gilead at the
Baird Healthcare Conference, a prominent investor meeting, demanding that
Gilead immediately reduce the price of Sovaldi, and targeting other companies
who will be marketing breakthrough HCV drugs before the end of the year. The
coalition includes 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East – the largest
healthcare union in the nation – ACT UP New York, Health GAP, the Treatment
Action Group, and VOCAL New York.
“Healthcare isn’t some wild
west gold rush, we’re talking about pricing policies that are directly
responsible for people dying,” said Matt Curtis, Policy Director at VOCAL New York,
an activist group that represents people living with hepatitis C. “Experts have
estimated that 12 weeks of Sovaldi costs well under $200 to produce, but because
of Gilead’s greed U.S. states are now adopting treatment guidelines that
restrict access. A markup of 40,000% doesn’t reflect ‘value’ as Gilead claims,
it’s a conscious decision to prey on people desperate for a cure.”
Helen Schaub, New York State Director of Policy and Legislation
for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, noted the impact
on the New York State Medicaid budget. “The members of 1199SEIU United
Healthcare Workers East always advocate for the best care for their patients,
including the estimated 250,000 New Yorkers infected with Hepatitis C,” said
Schaub. “They must have access to the treatment they need, including
Sovaldi. But at $84,000 per person, this drug could cost New York State
billions of dollars. We cannot let Gilead’s outrageous pricing threaten
our Medicaid budget and access to healthcare for the 5.8 million New Yorkers
who depend on Medicaid services. Gilead must drop the price now.”
“Gilead has ultimately limited
access to life-saving drugs – and their own market – with their
disgraceful approach to pricing,” said Tracy Swan, Hepatitis/HIV Project Director
with the Treatment Action Group. “We know how much it really
costs to produce these drugs at a reasonable profit. Other drug makers have a
chance to save their drugs from falling into the poisoned well – if you make
them affordable, people won’t die, they will be cured.”
###
Standing waiting for the action, several of us
talked about how familiar this felt. After treatment began for HIV, Larry Kramer famously
noted, there’s good news and bad news AIDS treatment. The good news is there is treatment. The bad news is no one can afford it.
Of course, ACT UP pushed back, zapping Wall Street.
On the 14th of September 1989, seven members of the AIDS Coalition
to Unleash Power chained themselves to the balcony of the New York Stock
Exchange, where they hung the banner: SELL WELLCOME, a reference to the
Burroughs Wellcome, the maker of AZT, the maker of the only promising AIDS drug
at the time. Their message was clear: Wall Street was controlling the
health care needs of people living with HIV/AIDS. Three days after the
action, the drug company dropped the price of the drug by a third.
The same thing would
have to happen with Hep C treatment, with several news medications coming down
the pipeline.
I was trying to get to bed early last night. By two, ready to turn in, I checked face book
one more time.
Brandon Cuicchi, of ACT UP NY, had posted the following message:
This morning at
9AM ACT UP New York will be joining Voices Of Community
Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY) in
front of the Wells Fargo at Madison and E49th to march to the Plaza Hotel on
Madison between 50th and 51st. We'll be protesting the high price of Sovaldi
and a rep of Gilead who's speaking at the Baird Health Care Conference. We
should be there until at least 10AM. Join us in protest in midtown Manhattan
this morning/in a few hours at 9AM!
The group would
join VOCAL and TAG for the zap.
The next morning VOCAL-NY tweeted out the messages:
.@GileadSciences is pricing it's #HepC meds at 40,000% of production costs. Their greed is killingus! @HenryEChang
“Our press release demanding #Gilead reduce the outrageous price of
their #hepc cure http://www.vocal-ny.org/blog/pr-healthcare-labor-advocates-protest-gilead-demand-immediate-hepatitis-c-drug-price-reduction-and-end-to-treatment-rationing/ … #Killead
I rode the train to meet everyone at 49th
street. Members of VOCAL, Jennifer Flynn, Matt Curtis, as well as Michael Tikili,
and Jim Eigo and others from ACT UP were
there.
Matt Handed me a press release declaring:
“Outrageous
pricing by Gilead Pharmaceuticals Causes Worldwide Rationing f Hepatitis C Cure…”
“Healthcare Advocates & Labor
Protest investor Conference to Call for Immediate Price Reduction.”
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE | September 4, 2014
Contact: Matt Curtis,
VOCAL-NY, 646-234-9062, matt@vocal-ny.org or Chelsea-Lyn
Rudder, 1199SEIU, 646-413-2223, ChelseaLyn.Rudder@1199.org
New hepatitis C drugs could stop an epidemic that now claims
more lives in the U.S. than AIDS. An estimated 250,000 New Yorkers are living
with hepatitis C, a viral infection that can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure
and liver cancer. But hepatitis C can be cured with only a few months of
treatment by a combination of drugs that includes Gilead’s Sovaldi as the
backbone.
Gilead is selling Sovaldi for
$1,000 per pill – a price that is causing treatment rationing, according to
advocates. “Public and private payers are restricting access to Sovaldi because
of cost, and withholding treatment from people until they have serious liver
damage. We don’t force HIV-positive people to wait until they have AIDS before
treating them. Should people with hepatitis C go without treatment so Gilead
can make more profit?,” asked Michael Tikili of Health GAP,
a global treatment access advocacy group.
Today healthcare and labor groups protested Gilead at the
Baird Healthcare Conference, a prominent investor meeting, demanding that
Gilead immediately reduce the price of Sovaldi, and targeting other companies
who will be marketing breakthrough HCV drugs before the end of the year. The
coalition includes 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East – the largest
healthcare union in the nation – ACT UP New York, Health GAP, the Treatment
Action Group, and VOCAL New York.
“Healthcare isn’t some wild
west gold rush, we’re talking about pricing policies that are directly
responsible for people dying,” said Matt Curtis, Policy Director at VOCAL New York,
an activist group that represents people living with hepatitis C. “Experts have
estimated that 12 weeks of Sovaldi costs well under $200 to produce, but because
of Gilead’s greed U.S. states are now adopting treatment guidelines that
restrict access. A markup of 40,000% doesn’t reflect ‘value’ as Gilead claims,
it’s a conscious decision to prey on people desperate for a cure.”
Helen Schaub, New York State Director of Policy and Legislation
for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, noted the impact
on the New York State Medicaid budget. “The members of 1199SEIU United
Healthcare Workers East always advocate for the best care for their patients,
including the estimated 250,000 New Yorkers infected with Hepatitis C,” said
Schaub. “They must have access to the treatment they need, including
Sovaldi. But at $84,000 per person, this drug could cost New York State
billions of dollars. We cannot let Gilead’s outrageous pricing threaten
our Medicaid budget and access to healthcare for the 5.8 million New Yorkers
who depend on Medicaid services. Gilead must drop the price now.”
“Gilead has ultimately limited
access to life-saving drugs – and their own market – with their
disgraceful approach to pricing,” said Tracy Swan, Hepatitis/HIV Project Director
with the Treatment Action Group. “We know how much it really
costs to produce these drugs at a reasonable profit. Other drug makers have a
chance to save their drugs from falling into the poisoned well – if you make
them affordable, people won’t die, they will be cured.”
###
Standing waiting for the action, several of us
talked about how familiar this felt. After treatment began for HIV, Larry Kramer famously
noted, there’s a good news bad news AIDS treatment. The good news is there is treatment. The bad news is no one can afford it.
Of course, ACT UP pushed back, zapping Wall Street.
On the 14th of September 1989, seven members of the AIDS Coalition
to Unleash Power chained themselves to the balcony of the New York Stock
Exchange, where they hung the banner: SELL WELLCOME, a reference to the
Burroughs Wellcome, the maker of AZT, the maker of the only promising AIDS drug
at the time. Their message was clear: Wall Street was controlling the
health care needs of people living with HIV/AIDS. Three days after the
action, the drug company dropped the price of the drug by a third.
The same thing would
have to happen with Hep C treatment, with several news medications coming down
the pipeline.
The plan was to get as far as we could get inside the conference venue
at Plaza Hotel on
Madison between 50th and 51st.
Luis G. Santiago
Buitrago gave me a sign to
carry inside.
"Gilead’s Greed Kills People with Hep C" we chanted as we attempted to enter, making sure those inside could hear us. We got up the stairs before security stopped us.
Gilead’s Greed Kills
People with Hep C we screamed as we
walked out, heading toward the street, chiming with the old ACT UP chant, “Pills cost
pennies. Greed costs lives.”
Luis G. Santiago explained what was wrong. “Experts say this can be made for $100 dollars.
They are charging $84,000 for a three month regimen. That is outrageous profiteering. People
are being denied access because they are not at the top of a hierarchy”
“I want t live,” explained Elizabeth of vocal.
“$1000 for a pill is killing our community. How can you sleep at night!”
“Gillead is charging $1000 per pill, $84,000 for a
three month regimen,” noted Matt
Curtis. “Good public health can’t be your
money or your life. That’s unacceptable.”
“We
have an ACT UP member who is a veteran.
He was told his condition has to
advance before he gets access t the cure,” explained ACT UP veteran Jim Eigo. “The VA is getting a 40% discount. He, like everyone, should be getting the best treatment
available,” Eigo continued. “Not to
have to meet an advanced criteria, waiting to get sick before he has access and
risking his liver. If this is what’s
happening at the VA, imagine what’s happening across the country?”
The new treatments seem to work. Yet, people need access t them. VoCAL will be there to make sure.
“We’ll
be back,” we chanted as we left the conference. “We’ll be back.”
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