Gilead leads HIV grantmakers list, tops Gates Foundation in a first for annual survey

*This article originally appeared in Endpoints News

Gilead Sciences’ $100 million pledge to fight the HIV epidemic in the southern US states helped boost the biopharma to the top of an annual philanthropic giving list. The 19th annual study by Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) put Gilead at the top ahead of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the first time since the study began.

Total charitable giving for 2020 was $707 million which, while just a 1% increase over the year before, is still the highest amount to date, said Sarah Hamilton, FCAA director of operations. FCAA tracks cash grants to external organizations for HIV research, treatment and other programs and does not include big government or public health funding or in-kind contributions from pharma companies.

“That philanthropy is only about 2% of the overall response to HIV globally, so it’s a small portion but it’s an important part,” she said, adding the funding supports advocacy in areas that governments generally don’t or won’t sponsor.

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