Richard H. Hughes, IV, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in Investor’s Business Daily, in “Gilead, Exact Jump After the Supreme Court Upholds a 'Cornerstone' of Health Care,” by Allison Gatlin.
Following is an excerpt:
Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Exact Sciences (EXAS) stocks popped Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out a challenge that would have undercut preventive services, including HIV prevention drugs and cancer screenings. …
With this decision, insurers must continue paying for these costs without requiring patients to chip in. Ahead of the decision Richard Hughes, a partner with the law firm Epstein Becker Green, said there was a 50-50 chance of the decision going the other way or being remanded to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Preventive care "is such a cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act," he told Investor's Business Daily. …
HIV Transmissions Are Still High
Despite the array of preventive options — and their high effectiveness — an estimated 1.3 million people globally contracted HIV last year, GSK said in a recent news release. Needham analyst Joseph Stringer, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says just 36% of eligible people in the U.S. are currently receiving PrEP treatments.
Gilead says the market is growing at a roughly 16% compound annual rate.
But most people who should be taking PrEP drugs aren't, said Hughes, the attorney.
"And that's unfortunate," he said. "And one of the great things about long-acting injectable PrEP is it's better for adherence. It's easier for people to stay on. It's easier to, you know, get a shot and do that less frequently, so we eliminate issues with adherence to oral drugs."
In the studies that clinched its approval, Gilead's Yeztugo proved 99.9% and 100% effective at preventing HIV.
"So, every transmission is entirely preventable," Hughes said. "We just need to make sure that what we do is continue to extend access. And things like this, the ACA requirement, are a really important part of that." ...
