TAG Comment on Cures 2.0 Call to Action
December 16, 2019 — TAG submitted comments to the offices of Representative Diana DeGette and Representative Fred Upton in response to their call to action regarding a 21st Century Cures Act 2.0 legislation. This proposed Cures 2.0 legislation must strengthen FDA’s stringent regulatory authority to ensure that medicines are safe, effective, and accessible for all populations who participate in research and who need approved treatments most, including those with few current treatment options.

TAG Comment in Response to Proposed Rulemaking: Visas: Ineligibility Based on Public Charge Grounds
October 30, 2019 — As an organization dedicated to ensuring equitable access to critical health services to individuals and communities affected by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and hepatitis C virus (HCV), Treatment Action Group (TAG) strongly opposes the proposed changes regarding “public charge,” published in the Federal Register on October 11, 2019 (the proposed rule).

Open Letter to Cepheid: Time to Lower the Price of Xpert Cartridges to US $5
October 21, 2019 — Letter from Organizations and Individuals to Cepheid asking them to reduce the price of Xpert MTB/RIF and Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra cartridges to US $5, inclusive of service and maintenance.

Letter to the Mayor of Changsha China
August 21, 2019 — In July 2019, three HIV/HCV activists and anti-discrimination lawyers were detained in Changsha, in the Hunan Province of China, and the three: Cheng Yuan, Liu Yonze, and Xio Wu, are facing possible state subversion charges. TAG sent this letter to the mayor of Changsha encouraging him to ensure that their rights to lawyers and due process are protected.

TAG Public Comment On Proposed Rule to Remove Section 1557
August 19, 2019 — TAG submitted public comment to the Department of Health and Human Services in response to the proposed rule to remove Section 1557 healthcare protections for LGBTQ people, those seeking reproductive health services, and those with limited English proficiency. These protections are absolutely crucial in our fight against HIV, hepatitis C, and tuberculosis. The proposal to remove these protections will place lives at risk and set us back immeasurably in the fight for equitable access to health care.

TAG Comments Delivered at FDA Public Meeting on LPAD
August 9, 2019 — Lizzy Lovinger, Governmental Relations and Policy Officer, presented comments on behalf of TAG at the FDA Public Meeting on Limited Population Pathway for Antibacterial and Antifungal Drugs (LPAD) on July 12, 2019. LPAD is a proposed new pathway to drug approval, which would allow drugs to be approved for certain conditions affecting limited populations, after having been studied in smaller numbers of people than normally required. TAG expressed concern that if LPAD goes forward as written, it would enable pharmaceutical companies to rush drugs into the market without ensuring that these drugs are safe to use or more effective than existing interventions. All patients deserve treatment that has been rigorously tested to confirm benefits outweigh risks.

Letter Regarding the Appointment of a New Executive Director at UNAIDS
August 7, 2019 — TAG, along with 60 other member organizations of the Global AIDS Policy Partnership, signed on to a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations regarding the search for the new Executive Director of UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS). Our letter offers recommendations of qualities the selected person should have in order to continue to carry forward the mission of UNAIDS and inject momentum into the fight to end the epidemic for all populations.

TAG, PrEP4All Joint Comment on DESCOVY for FDA Hearing, 8-7-19
August 7, 2019 — TAG and PrEP4All submitted the following joint comment to the FDA Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee on August 7, 2019 about the supplemental new drug application for DESCOVY (tenofovir alafenamide fumarate emtricitabine, or TAFFTC) for an indication for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).  TAG and PrEP4All express concerns about the limited data available to support a PrEP indication for TAFFTC – especially in key populations such as cisgender women and people of color – and about Gilead’s conduct in delaying research and inflated claims about the benefits of TAFFTC.

Letter from TAG and 55 Allied Organizations Denouncing the Trump Administration’s Ban on Fetal Tissue Research 
June 14, 2019 — Following the announcement of the Trump Administration’s policy banning federal funding for research using fetal tissue, TAG and 55 other organizations signed and sent a letter to HHS leadership urging a reconsideration of the ban and the reinstatement of funding for HIV/AIDS research affected by the ban.

Written Senate Testimony for FY 2020 for HIV Research Funding at NIAID and OAR
June 10, 2019 — This written testimony for Fiscal Year 2020 for HIV research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Office of AIDS Research (OAR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was submitted to the U.S. Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee.