Melissa Barber
@mbarber.bsky.social
Health economics, law, global health, and access to medicines. Economist @ MSF-USA but views my own. https://melissajbarber.github.io.
In Rio for #AIDS2026. Gilead has put up more promo banners than it has allowed people in Brazil to access lenacapavir. It's a grim echo of past AIDS conferences: we celebrate scientific breakthroughs inside a conference center while people outside still can't access the medicines being discussed.
The peculiar situation of Gilead not selling HIV drugs to MSF has been hard to explain: "Wait, the drug company doesn't want cash money, what am I missing?" is the constant q I get from journalists. Thanks to #tbfighters who are finding ways to explain in sharp (& very funny) ways what's happening.
Celeste Moss@celestevmoss.bsky.social · 3w agoYEZTUGO (lenacapavir) is a new injectable form of long-acting PrEP that only requires 2 doses per year to prevent HIV infection, and 3 million people are expected to get access to the drug by 2028 via The Global Fund. Sounds great, right? (1/5)
YEZTUGO (lenacapavir) is a new injectable form of long-acting PrEP that only requires 2 doses per year to prevent HIV infection, and 3 million people are expected to get access to the drug by 2028 via The Global Fund. Sounds great, right? (1/5)
Some folks (including me) spoke w/Tracy Swan and the Make Medicines Affordable pod abt lenacapavir. Come for a deep dive into Gilead’s VL. Stay for a broader (occasionally 🌶️) convo abt how VLs don't just determine access today, but shape generic markets tomorrow. open.spotify.com/episode/5Klc...
Exploring Access Barriers to Lenacapavir Created by Gilead's Voluntary Licnese
Make Medicines Affordable · Episode
open.spotify.com
The minutes of the TRIPS Council meeting in April 2026 documented heated exchanges on the triplets: biodiversity, traditional knowledge and patenting of life forms. For more background on the 719 document, please see: www.keionline.org/40837 @wto.org
I'm not saying revoking strict patentability criteria is bad for your odds of winning the World Cup, and mandating drug price transparency is good for them. But I'm not *not* saying it.
Doctors Without Borders is at NYC Pridefest (4th Ave & 13th St) talking abt our campaign demanding global access to lenacapavir: Two Shots, $40, Everywhere. If you’re at pride, stop by! So far 100 folks have written postcards to Gilead abt why they believe in global access. Let’s get to 1000!
MSF technical brief on diagnostics for Bundibugyo Ebola disease: msfaccess.org/The-diagnost...
The diagnostic blind spot in the 2026 Bundibugyo Ebola disease outbreak: access gaps and priority actions
A technical briefer sharing gaps and access priorities to ensure access to right diagnostics for Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak in DRC and Uganda.
msfaccess.org
Hoping someone across my network (or yours - please share!) knows an ingenious diabetes campaigner looking for a 12-month contract with MSF, with the possibility of extension. JD is defined more broadly, but campaigning on insulin will be central. July 3 deadline. www.msf.org/internationa...
👀"Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), the GARDP Foundation, and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) join forces to accelerate drug development for patients in greatest need" 🔬🧪💊💉🤝 dndi.org/press-releas...
👀 "Canada becomes the first G7 country to approve a generic version of #semaglutide" www.canada.ca/en/health-ca...
A major serogroup C meningitis outbreak is unfolding in Chad, amid mass displacement driven by war in Sudan. It deserves far more attention than it is getting. Since Jan more than 1,500 patients have been admitted to isolation units amid meningitis C & measles. www.msf.fr/communiques-...
Tchad : MSF alerte sur une double épidémie de rougeole et de méningite dans l’est du pays
Alors que des milliers de personnes fuyant la guerre au Soudan se réfugient dans l’est du Tchad, les équipes de Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) font face à une double épidémie de rougeole et de méningi...
msf.fr
Gilead's battle with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and plans for limited access to #Lenacapavir raise disturbing questions about #ResearchEthics and who a corporation is responsible to. My latest: www.forbes.com/sites/judyst... #ClinicalResearch #AccessToMedicines #Bioethics
Breakthrough HIV Drug Is Out Of Reach For Many Who Need It Most
Lenacapavir, almost 100% effective at preventing HIV, is priced by Gilead at $28,200 and inaccessible to many in low-income countries plagued by the disease.
forbes.com
As a pharma company, you know your position is morally indefensible when even business publications like Forbes are scathing about your refusal to supply HIV drugs to MSF and much of the world, while charging the few you do sell to exorbitant prices. 1/4 www.forbes.com/sites/judyst...
Breakthrough HIV Drug Is Out Of Reach For Many Who Need It Most
Lenacapavir, almost 100% effective at preventing HIV, is priced by Gilead at $28,200 and inaccessible to many in low-income countries plagued by the disease.
forbes.com
Do I know anyone who has recently done a MSc Politics and International Relations at SOAS? Asking for a friend who is looking into the program and has some questions. thank you!
I'll be speaking on goods in transit issues at the Fordham University School of Law IP and Policy Conference this week. Glad to connect with others working on all things pharmaceutical - feel free to reach out.
Is the Philip Morris currently on an advertising blitz to 'free the science' the same one that DOJ described as having "suppressed research, destroyed documents... distorted the truth, and abused the legal system"? 🤔❓😠 See DOJ summary of U.S. v. Philip Morris www.justice.gov/osg/brief/ph... 1/5
This is concerning but the impact is hard to gauge without detailed guidance defining how 'ingredients' and 'onshore' will be implemented in practice. www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Bolsters National Security and Strengthens U.S. Supply Chains by Imposing Tariffs on Patented Pharmaceutical Products
BOLSTERING NATIONAL SECURITY: Today, President Donald J. Trump imposed tariffs on patented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients under Section 232 of the
whitehouse.gov
Gilead spends millions on PR to make 2 million doses sound like something other than the pittance it is. 2 million will have virtually no impact, see the green line below >>
20 million people need PrEP, and of those many would prefer lenacapavir to oral options. Unless Gilead makes more doses available, access will just remain cruel hype. Already in Eswatini, where HIV prevalence is 25%, clinics are stocked out of lenacapavir because demand is so great >>
Doctors Without Borders calls Gilead ‘unconscionable’ for refusing to sell HIV prevention drug to organization.. statnews.com/pharmalot/20... #pharma #HIV #AIDS #pharma #Gilead
Doctors Without Borders calls Gilead 'unconscionable' for refusing to sell HIV prevention drug to organization
The move came after months of talks in which Doctors Without Borders asked Gilead Sciences for a “limited” supply of lenacapavir.
statnews.com
I've walked thru the economic logic here, but Gilead obviously does not say this out loud. They don't really have a good reason not to sell to MSF, which is why they landed on negotiating supply contracts is "a lot of work" (actual thing they said). 13/ www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/preve...
Open letter to Gilead: Prevention should not be a privilege
MSF calls on Gilead for direct access to lenacapavir, as the current rollout falls far short of the needs.
doctorswithoutborders.org
Today, MSF is going public with something we've been fighting behind closed doors for months: Gilead will not sell us their new HIV drug, lenacapavir. The sticking point isn't even price, they just refuse to sell. Open letter linked + explainer 🧵1/ www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/gilea...
Gilead refuses to sell groundbreaking HIV prevention drug to MSF
Blocking humanitarian organizations from accessing a medical breakthrough puts vulnerable people across the world in danger.
doctorswithoutborders.org
The State Department is considering withholding lifesaving assistance to people with HIV in Zambia as a negotiating tactic to force the government of the southern African country to sign a deal giving the United States more access to the country’s critical minerals. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/h...
No H.I.V. Aid Without More Access to Minerals: U.S. Ponders ‘Sticks’ Against Zambia
nytimes.com
PSA that the wildly useful Antibiotic Resistance Coalition Newsletter is now on substack. Especially relevant for folks working on AMR, but also for anyone interested in access to medicines, global health policy, or R&D reform. You can subscribe here: anthonydso1.substack.com/p/antibiotic...
Antibiotic Resistance Coalition Newsletter
February 2026 | Now on Substack
anthonydso1.substack.com
"Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies approved an urgent procedure for a bill allowing the compulsory licensing of patents related to Mounjaro & Zepbound. The approval fast-tracks the proposal, bypassing committee review and moving directly to plenary vote." www.tavaresoffice.com.br/brazils-cong...
Brazil’s Congress fast-tracks bill on compulsory licensing of Mounjaro patents - Tavares
Brazil’s Congress fast-tracks a bill allowing compulsory licensing of Mounjaro patents, raising key IP and public health considerations.
tavaresoffice.com.br
If you’re in London Wed 4 Feb (16:30–18:00), come to @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social to hear me and Courtney Davis discuss @susigeiger.bsky.social & @theobourgeron.bsky.social new book "Peak Pharma". Discussion + drinks after. Register here: www.kcl.ac.uk/events/book-...
Book Launch - 'Peak Pharma: Toward a New Political Economy of Health' | King's College London
Join us for a book launch discussing the history, politics and prospective future of pharmaceutical markets.
kcl.ac.uk
Alarming: LLMs are vulnerable to ITI manipulation, compromising medical peer review integrity. ITI consistently inflated review scores & increased rates of acceptance recs from 0% to nearly 100%. Models obeyed malicious instructions despite detecting scientific flaws. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Invisible Text Injection and Peer Review by AI Models
This quality improvement study assesses the vulnerability of leading commercial large language models to invisible text injection manipulation in simulated medical peer review.
jamanetwork.com
