HIV-activists Are Waiting For The Generic of Truvada

Approval of Truvada’s generic by the FDA surprised HIV activists, specialists, doctors and people living with HIV, now they all try to understand when Truvada’s generic will be available and for what price.

"The point is, generic products are coming, and we need to be ready for that. We want to have time for policy landscaping, to ensure systems are in place for maximized coverage. If that happens quickly, we are caught off guard. On the HIV treatment side, we have safety net programs are in place that prevent people from falling through the cracks. Generic Truvada is a chance for us to ask what is possible. Can we develop some really robust public health programs, particularly in a time where there is a grave danger that the current system we have in place might be taken away from us? How do we strengthen programs to take advantage of lower costs generics to maximize access? On the PrEP side it's not so clear."- told Tim Horn, deputy executive director of HIV and HCV Programs at Treatment Action Group (TAG), in his interview for TheBody.com

Truvada’s generic can help to stop HIV further transmission by giving more people an opportunity to use that drug as PrEP because of it’s cheaper price. Now Truvada costs more than 1,200$ and the generic drugs usually appeared to be cheaper on a half than the original drug.

"We don't know if those numbers will be relevant for the U.S. marketplace, but given how expensive the list price is for Truvada, one can be more hopeful that, as generics become available, the price will go down," - said to TheBody.com Mitchell Warren, the executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC).