Open Letter to Gilead Sciences, their Board of Directors and shareholders
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05.02.2014
The recent data from the Boston AASLD meeting confirmed the amazing 100% cure rate with Gilead’s sofosbuvir and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s daclatasvir. Not only did this combination cure genotypes 1, 2 and 3, this cure was achieved without the toxic and debilitating side effects of ribavirin or interferon, both of which are known to cause severe anemia and other life-threatening conditions. There are even some concerns that ribavirin may in fact be carcinogenic (see http://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/0815/p655.html) So millions of patients and their families were so very hopeful about the possibility of quick access to this safer and effective HCV drug combination without ribavirin or interferon.
But to our continued disbelief and monumental heartbreak, Gilead refuses to move forward in this collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb and the most significant discovery in the history of hepatitis C. The rationale for this appears to be nothing more than Gilead’s determination to corner the market with its own in-house NS5a inhibitor GS-5885, which is not effective in the three genotypes and most likely will require the addition of the dreadful ribavirin. Other companies, such as Abbott, are now seeking their own ribavirin-free cocktails and hopefully will prove successful… but it will take years. In the meantime, Gilead could be forging ahead with this combination of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir and bring it to market much sooner than any others in development and start recouping its $11 billion investment as well as saving millions of lives. This would be a win-win situation for everyone involved, i.e., Gilead Sciences, its shareholders, the people suffering and dying with this disease, as well as their families who love them just as much as you love your own families.
Although we may not have hundreds of thousands of signatures on our petition and we have not yet been able to capture the world’s attention about this urgent and dire situation, do not take that as any indication of our intent to quit in the pursuit of this cure. We have no other choice in this matter and we will continue on… day after day, week after week, month after month, or until another company comes up with a cure as safe and effective as sofosbuvir combined with daclatasvir.
Sign on this Open letter --->>> http://www.change.org/petitions/gilead-sciences-stop-withholding-this-cure-for-hepatitis-c
