Gilead Announces PrEP Research Funding Opportunities

One of America's pharmaceutical giants is investing into the HIV prevention method known as PrEP.

Gilead Sciences is accepting bids for research into pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Winning bids will be funded, Gilead said, through its corporate grants program.

"PrEP has become a major topic in our community," said Impulse Group South Florida President A.J. Alegria. "We see a lot of opinions, a lot of debate about whether it's the right thing to do socially and medically."

Alegria moderated a panel discussion about PrEP in February during an Impulse Group event in Hollywood. At that discussion, panelist Dr. Steven Santiago, a medical doctor for Care Resources said PrEP was prescribed for "high risk individuals."

In its press release announcing funding for PrEP research, Gilead Sciences said it is looking to support organizations focused on high risk populations, such as young adult MSM (men who have sex with me) of all races, Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, transgender women and heterosexual African American men. Those categories of populations have a higher prevalence and risk of HIV infection, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is unclear just how much funding Gilead intends to allocate, but bidders are encouraged to submit their applications for consideration by June 30. Applications and/or questions should be sent to [email protected]