Gilead Sciences (A) The Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs

This case describes the initial considerations of Gilead Sciences as it designed a strategy for delivering its AIDS drug Viread to developing nations in Africa. In October 2001, Gilead Sciences received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the commercial sale of Viread, a significant new drug for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Viread proved to be an immediate success, increasing rapidly in sales and market share in the United States within its first year on the market. As Gilead made plans to take the drug global in early 2003, a high priority was to make the drug readily available to millions of people in the least developed nations, where the HIV virus was having its most devastating effects. Pricing and distribution were key considerations. Gilead did not have a distribution system in place in any of these countries, and the price charged in the United States would be prohibitive in the developing world. Readers of the case are asked to address these issues. The B case discusses Gilead’s initial experience with the Access Program and steps taken to improve and expand it.