In a move designed to underscore the symbolism of World AIDS Day, Gilead Sciences has reached an agreement with the ADAP Crisis Task Force to extend discounts and rebates for most of its HIV meds that are purchased by state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs. And Task Force members pointed to the deal to prod other drugmakers into entering similar arrangements.

The move is significant because Gilead is one of the largest purveyors of AIDS medicines, but has been under steady attack from AIDS activists for not moving faster to lower prices. Last month, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation staged a ‘Day of the Dead’ mock funeral procession and a ‘die-in’ at Gilead headquarters over the issue (read here), and lambasted the drugmaker for agreeing to pay $11 billion to buy Pharmasset (see this).

The deal comes as state ADAPs struggle with limited funding. As of mid-November, there were nearly 6,600 people on waiting lists in 12 states, a 28 percent drop from August. However, 18 ADAPs, including nine with waiting lists, have begun additional cost-containment measures since April 2009. And 10 ADAPs are considering new or further cost cutting by April, according to the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (read here). Earlier today, President Obama earmarked $35 million in additional ADAP funding.

“These voluntary agreements are a critical component of our nation’s collective response to help meet the medication needs of more than 200,000 HIV-positive Americans,” says Chris Hanson, a member of the ACTF and coordinator of Michigan’s ADAP, in a statement. “We are hopeful that agreements similar to this one with Gilead can be reached soon with other manufacturers” of anti-retro viral meds.

The terms were not disclosed, but ISI Group analyst Marc Schoenebaum estimates Gilead offered the ADAPs a price discount of about 50 percent off retail pricing, and that about 23 percent of revenue from HIV meds sold in the US goes to ADAPs. And since about half of Gilead’s global revenue is booked in the US, the total sales to ADAPs is about 6 percent of overall revenue, which was nearly $8 billion last year.

Given its prominent role marketing AIDS meds, Gilead found itself at the center of another recent controversy. Earlier this year, the drugmaker agreed to license four AIDS meds to the Medicines Patent Pool, which is an initiative designed to streamline patent licensing for producing generics of patented HIV meds and lower prices in poor countries. But the deal prompted criticism that the terms were too restrictive and a petition was launched to revise or terminate the agreement (see here).