Failing to fund the global fight against COVID-19 is a choice to extend the pandemic, to accept preventable suffering and insecurity for all, and to live with the knowledge that, deep in the time of the world’s greatest need, the United States gave up.

Lenacapavir could sharply cut new HIV infections. But only if people can actually get it. Here's a brief video from @Maybarduk on how monopoly power is limiting access, and why World AIDS Day is the moment to demand change. https://t.co/jOUlQZQlRb

🚨 £3bn diverted from the #NHS budget to boost big pharma profits. Thousands of patients will die every year because of this, but the government decided that was a price worth paying to please Donald Trump and big pharma.

We don’t have to give in. As I wrote with @Maybarduk, we need to develop a backbone - and start building research and manufacturing capacity so we can no longer be held to ransom in this way. 6/ https://t.co/wtoRnvNi2t

Thinking of this from Rachel Sachs this summer re MFN news: For unapproved drugs, industry might be able to announce list prices that are the same in US & other countries but then achieve differential prices through negotiation ex-US. https://t.co/htl2mPRVxm

Lowering prices is a simpler way to promote access to medicine. High prices start with Big Pharma. Prices won’t fall until we crack down on drug corporations.

PhRMA also put figures today to its U.S. infrastructure investments and patient assistance programs. Most of these are not new, and patient assistance programs are notoriously hard to navigate.

The new direct-to-patient website prices are still unaffordably high for most patients and cannot substitute for offering broadly low prices to insurers and benefit managers, to support widespread access.

Some drugmakers have announced lower list prices for some drugs through direct-to-patient sales. These have a use, though they open new avenues for abuse and overprescription.

Puffing up direct-to-patient sales lets Big Pharma pass the blame for high prices to insurers and benefit managers, without taking serious responsibility itself to make medicine affordable.

Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate health committee, issued a report showing that prices for nearly 700 prescription drugs are higher now than when Donald Trump took office.

Today PhRMA announced https://t.co/WaxyWaDURS to support direct-to-patient sales of prescription drugs. The White House had set today as a deadline for drugmakers to offer Americans lower prices or face government action, including an expected rule on most-favored nation pricing

PhRMA’s long-awaited answer to anger about its outrageous prices, which cause treatment rationing & suffering & every year waste tens of billions of $$$? A website. You would think a trillion-dollar industry that prides itself on innovation could do better. You would be wrong.

Pleased to join today's #UNGA80 side event on #AccessToMedicines — from @UNAIDS, @Public_Citizen, @TAGTeam_Tweets, @peoplesmeds, @PIH, @uaem & @RESULTS_Tweets. I spoke about what’s at stake: Without PEPFAR, we could see 6 million new HIV infections, 4 million AIDS related deaths

We’re launching a global campaign to make long-acting HIV prevention available to everyone. With allies @ITPCglobal @HealthGAP we will: *Challenge drugmakers’ power & patents; make $40 price real for all countries *Push for ambition to help 10 million+ people access PrEP LA

We had a critical discussion about continuing the fight to bring medicines to all, with the first step being bringing that breakthrough — at that price — to the world. Thanks to UNAIDS’ @Winnie_Byanyima and @UNITAID @TAvafia for joining us today and for your leadership.

Thanks to the other speakers that joined us: @_emilybass_, Mitchell Warren, @asia_ilse , Amanda Banda, and Isata Dumbuya. And to our event cosponsors @UNAIDS, @HealthGAP, @peoplesmeds, @uaem, @TAGTeam_Tweets, @RESULTS_Tweets, and @PIH

https://t.co/xuds1Rxdt7

State is cutting HIV/AIDS programming over Congress’s objection & full appropriation, but there’s no “America First” when it comes to infectious disease. Trump’s cuts will save no more than a rounding error, but cost America credibility, and perhaps millions of people their lives

State’s Health Strategy is cover for cruelty. Incredibly, while the Pentagon budget balloons to trillion+ dollars w/Trump’s vanity projects, the admin picks out critically underfunded needs of global health for slashing & blames development groups for budgetary waste.

I applaud workers at the CDC for standing up against Sec. Kennedy’s dangerous anti-vaccine crusade. We are witnessing a full-blown war on public health from the Trump administration. History will not look kindly on those who stayed silent in the face of this assault on science.