UnitedHealth Drops Descovy as Generic Shakes Up PrEP Class
UnitedHealthcare is dropping coverage in its commercial plan formularies for Gilead Sciences, Inc.’s HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication Descovy (emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide), steering patients instead to Gilead’s Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) as a generic version of Truvada is set to launch.
Other plans are likely to follow suit in their PrEP formularies when Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. releases its generic version of Truvada on Sept. 30, one industry insider says. But formularies could be shaken up again in 2021 as an “A” rating from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) for PrEP takes effect, requiring plans to provide health plan members at high risk of HIV with access to PrEP without copayments or deductibles.
