Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #breakthepatents
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#PrEP THREAD! After purposely delaying Descovy's development for a decade, @GileadSciences started warning doctors and people with HIV to switch from Truvada-based regimens to Descovy-based regimens, claiming it was safer. 80% switched within 3 years. /1 
NOT COINCIDENTALLY, this extended Gilead's monopolies in HIV treatment & prevention since TDF, the main component of Truvada, lost patent protection in 2017. But it also switched patients from a drug used for 14yrs w/ well-documented toxicities to one that was newly approved. /2
Just like Truvada, we're learning more about Descovy after wider use in HIV+ patients. In the 2018 EMERALD Study, TAF, the main component in Descovy, caused far more grade 3/4 elevations in LDL & Total cholesterol. And unlike TDF, it caused diabetes in some patients. /3
