ADAP Crisis Task Force and ViiV Agree on Discounted Price for Dolutegravir

The ADAP Crisis Task Force (ACTF) announced this week that it has negotiated an agreement with ViiV Healthcare to provide the newly approved integrase inhibitor dolutegravir (Tivicay) to AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) recipients for less than the wholesale cost.

Below is an edited excerpt from a press release issued by the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, on behalf of ACTF, describing the agreement.

ADAP Crisis Task Force Announces Agreement with ViiV Healthcare for Tivicay

August 26, 2013 -- Washington, DC -- The ADAP Crisis Task Force (ACTF) has reached a new pricing agreement with ViiV Healthcare for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) for Tivicay (dolutegravir) for the treatment of HIV-1 infected individuals. The agreed-upon ADAP direct purchase price for Tivicay, negotiated between the ACTF and ViiV, is substantially lower than the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC), reflecting voluntary discounts that are also significantly below the mandated 340B pricing of the medication. 

The ACTF has a long history of working collaboratively with ViiV Healthcare to provide ADAPs access to discounted pricing on its HIV drugs. The special pricing of Tivicay, available to all state ADAPs, is in addition to that mandated by current law and the Affordable Care Act, and adds another treatment option to other products included in the previous agreement between the ACTF and ViiV. This agreement also continues a price freeze on ViiV’s HIV medications purchased by ADAPs, including Tivicay, through 2014. In addition to this agreement, the ACTF has worked collaboratively with the Fair Pricing Coalition (FPC) and ViiV Healthcare to expand access to medications outside of ADAP through the company’s Patient Assistance Program and Co-Pay Assistance Program. 

"The uncertainty that many ADAPs continue to experience requires ongoing commitments to ADAPs on the part of pharmaceutical companies as well as federal and state governments," stated Chris Hanson, coordinator of the Michigan ADAP and a member of the ACTF. "We thank ViiV Healthcare for agreeing to price this new medication for ADAPs at a point that will allow access to it for clients, without adversely impacting ADAP budgets. Our long working relationship with ViiV made this new agreement possible and it will help provide fiscal stability for ADAPs through 2014," added Hanson. 

The ACTF, convened by the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), has significant multi-year, voluntary discounts and rebates from all eight manufacturers of HIV antiretroviral (ARV) medications, with many of them also providing price freezes for ADAPs through 2014. ADAPs receive substantial savings from these agreements with pharmaceutical companies. However, uncertainty over the actual impact on ADAPs of the soon-to-be-implemented Affordable Care Act (ACA), coupled with ongoing state and federal budget challenges and increasing numbers of people living with HIV as a result of improved treatments, continues to require an ever-increasing investment of state and federal funds for ADAPs in addition to these cost savings. 

About the ACTF and NASTAD 

The ACTF was formed in December 2002 by NASTAD and a group of state AIDS/ADAP directors concerned about the fiscal crisis facing ADAPs nationwide. The ACTF works in partnership with manufacturers of ARV and other HIV-related medications to reduce drug costs and improve access to medications for clients in the nation’s ADAPs. It is estimated that ACTF agreements with companies have saved ADAPs approximately $1.75 billion since 2003. NASTAD provides logistical support to the ACTF. 

Founded in 1992, NASTAD is a nonprofit national association of state and territorial health department HIV/AIDS program directors who have programmatic responsibility for administering HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis health care, prevention, education, and supportive services programs funded by state and federal governments. For more information, visit www.NASTAD.org. 

8/28/13

Source

National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors/ADAP Crisis Task Force. ADAP Crisis Task Force Announces Agreement with ViiV Healthcare for Tivicay. Press release. August 26, 2013.