Susanne Posel
Occupy Corporatism
July 20, 2012
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Gilead Sciences’ Truvada, the first pharmaceutical drug to prevent the virus that causes AIDS.
Some of the senior members of Gilead Sciences include:
- John C. Martin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who served on the Centers for Disease Control/Health Resources and Services Administrations Advisory Committee on HIV and STD Prevention and Treatment and was a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and worked for competitors Bristol-Myers Squibb and Syntex Corporation
- Robin L. Washington, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer who was a former accounting analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
- Kevin Young, Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations, who was appointed Commander of The British Empire for his service to the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries
Margaret Hamburg, FDA commissioner, released a statement saying that the approval by the FDA “marks an important milestone in our fight against HIV.”
Marketed as a preventative for people who at high risk of contracting HIV through sexual activies, Turvada is supported by public health advocates that believe this pill will slow down the spread of HIV. In America it is estimated that 1.2 million people have HIV. With this new antiviral drug, it is proposed that 240,000 HIV carriers will not be able to continue to spread the disease.
Gilead Sciences combined two separate drugs to create Truvada. The genetically engineering of the preventative is praised by the FDA to answer the assumption that condoms are not effective. The pharmaceutical corporations are working hard to convince the general public that their drugs are the only answer to our problems; whether with regard to healthcare or psychology or simply controlling social behavior as with addiction vaccines .
The inception of HIV/AIDS began in the late 1970’s when the World Health Organization (WHO) went into Africa under a small pox vaccine initiative . Suddenly, in 1981, the first recorded incident of HIV was “discovered” in the same places where WHO had conducted the small pox vaccine campaigns.
The United Nations (UN) says that the geographic spread of HIV/AIDS is mostly focused on black people in Africa and the Southeast Asia region. This bioweapon is a directed attack on the densely populated areas in under-developed nations.
According to Henry Kissinger, in the National Security Memorandum (NSSM 200), “De-population should be the highest priority of US foreign policy towards the Third World . . . Reduction of the rate of population in these States [Third World nations] is a matter of vital US national security.” Kissinger goes on to state that, “The US economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less developed countries.”
The primary focus of this depopulation initiative was “economic interests of the US.”
Chris Collins, vice president of the Foundation for AIDS Research claims: “I think it’s very good news. We need more prevention options to effectively tackle AIDS in the U.S. and globally.”
Gilead Sciences has had Truvada within their arsenal of drugs since 2004 and purveyed it as a treatment for those infected with HIV. In 2010, research studies of the drug showed that it could also be used as a precautionary measure. When used with counseling and condoms, 42% of gay and bisexual males showed reduction in evidenced infections.
Globally, 2,500 men were studied regarding Truvada and the researchers claim that this drug decreased the risk of infection by 75% and that this would make it a great preventative pill.
The FDA will now allow this drug to be used for preventative purposes. They stipulate that HIV-negative blood tests must be taken prior to prescription of Truvada. According to the packaging, Truvada “must only be prescribed to individuals confirmed to be HIV-negative immediately prior to initial use and periodically during use.”
Dr. Debra Birnkrant, FDA’s director of antiviral products, stated: “What we found was that condom use increased over time and sexually transmitted infections either remained at baseline levels or decreased. So in essence, we don’t have any strong evidence that condoms were not used or there was a decrease in condom use.”
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation requested that the FDA not approve Truvada, citing that the drug would give users a false sense of protection and reduce the uses of condoms which are the most reliable preventative against HIV. However, scientists for the FDA assert that patients on Truvada were not more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior as their studies concluded.
Truvada is costly, averaging $11,000 annually and the feasibility of acquisition of this drug for the high-risk communities is not likely. Collins points out that “many of them don’t have insurance, many don’t see a doctor.”
Projects are underway in Miami, Florida and San Francisco, California that will offer Truvada for free to 500 people that come to clinics that specialize in sexually-transmitted diseases.
Albert Liu, lead of the project and with the San Francisco Department of Health, says: “The goal is to evaluate the use of [Truvada] in a more ‘real world’ setting.”
Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation , believes that the FDA’s approval of Truvada is a “catastrophe” because studies showed that patients did not take the pill on a regular daily basis and its assertion of effectiveness is questionable.
Weinstein also points out that the public may simply take the pill because of their psychological determination to prevent it. This could result in the production of a drug-resistant strain of HIV coming to fruition.
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