The news: Gilead Sciences is investing $11 billion in new US manufacturing and R&D, adding to its already planned $21 billion over the next five years.
Driving the news: Gilead joins a group of pharma companies pledging more US manufacturing under pressure from the Trump administration to build domestically amid tariff threats.
- In April, Roche committed $50 billion in new US manufacturing and R&D over five years, and Novartis pledged $23 billion at 10 facilities over five years.
- In March, Johnson & Johnson promised $55 billion over the next four years in US technology, R&D and manufacturing.
- And in February, Eli Lilly added $27 billion to the $23 billion it already committed to invest in US manufacturing.
The bigger picture: Gilead is one of the two leading HIV drug manufacturers, along with GSK’s ViiV Healthcare. Both companies also make pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, treatments to prevent HIV. Gilead is currently awaiting US approval of its twice-yearly PrEP drug lenacapavir, assigned an FDA decision deadline date of June 19. The drug is already approved as Sunlenca for HIV treatment.
The Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze includes the global AIDS relief program President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Gilead is a longtime PEPFAR partner through HIV and PrEP drug access and education. Lenacapavir’s expected roll out under the program is now at risk, per STAT. Trump has issued at least 15 executive orders affecting the health and healthcare access of LGBTQ+ people in the US, per a KFF report.
The takeaway: Gilead and GSK’s ViiV face a doubly difficult administration with both tariff threats and anti-global health aid and anti-LGBTQ+ healthcare policies. It’s likely going to be a challenging four years for the HIV drugmakers, balancing US political issues and global health needs.
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