HIV Drug Side Effects May Have Been Avoided With Safer Tenofovir Versions
August 2026 Update: Saiontz & Kirk is no longer investigating new HIV drug injury claims. The information on this page is for historical and informational purposes only.
The product liability lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk previously reviewed claims for individuals who suffered side effects from HIV drugs that are part of a class of medications known as tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, TDF, which includes the medications Truvada, Atripla, Stribild, Complera and Viread.
These drugs have been linked to a number of toxic and debilitating side effects involving the bones and kidneys, including:
- Chronic Kidney Disease
- Acute Kidney Injury
- Kidney Failure
- Bone Fractures
- Osteoporosis, Osteopenia, Osteaomalacia
- Tooth Loss or Dental Problems
- Wrongful Death
Current users of Truvada, Viread, Atripla, Complera and Stribild should not stop taking their HIV medication without first speaking with their doctor. However, lawsuits alleged that Gilead knew about a safer formulation for treatment and prevention of HIV, known as tenofovir alafenamide, TAF.
Rather than adequately warning consumers and the medical community, plaintiffs alleged the drug maker engaged in a “scheme” to withhold these safer treatments, so that it could maximize profits on the toxic TDF drugs that remained under patent exclusivity.
Plaintiffs alleged that many individuals living with HIV, or taking these drugs for PrEP to avoid developing the disease, suffered severe and potentially life-threatening injuries that may have been avoided if Gilead had warned about the potential side effects and sold safer available medications.
Starting in 2001, Gilead began developing a monopoly over HIV treatments, with the introduction of Viread as the first TDF-based medication, which delivered the compound tenofovir in pill form. Soon after, however, experts realized HIV needed to be fought with a cocktail of antiviral medications, meaning future treatments should involve combination drugs.
Gilead followed Viread with the introduction of Truvada in 2004, Atripla in 2006, Complera in 2011 and Stribild in 2012. All of these were HIV “cocktails,” combining TDF with one or two other treatments.
Throughout this time, lawsuits alleged that TDF drugs were known to be highly toxic and posed serious risks of kidney side effects and bone deterioration. These side effects were linked to higher doses of tenofovir and long-term use of the medications.
Although Gilead allegedly knew about this risk, and that individuals were taking the HIV drugs long-term to avoid progression of the disease, plaintiffs claimed the drug maker failed to warn about the potential side effects and delayed development of a known safer alternative.
TAF-Based HIV Drugs Were Alleged To Be Safer
As early as 2004, Gilead allegedly knew about the potential to develop and sell safer HIV drugs involving a compound known as TAF, which is absorbed into cells that HIV targets in a more efficient way, allowing much lower doses of the toxic compound tenofovir.
TAF drugs require smaller doses, meaning there is less chance of side effects from HIV drug toxicity. For example, 25 mg of a TAF drug can be as effective as a 300 mg dose of a TDF drug.
Just as Viread and Truvada were growing to become “blockbuster” drugs, accounting for billions in annual sales for the drug maker, Gilead decided in 2004 to stop all development for TAF drugs.
According to allegations raised in lawsuits, this was an intentional “scheme” designed to maximize profits while Gilead held an exclusive patent for TDF drugs, delaying competition from generic equivalents for the revenue-generating products.
Gilead did not begin to introduce safer TAF drugs until 2015, just as generic versions of Viread, Truvada and other TDF drugs were approaching the market. To continue massive sales and an essential monopoly in HIV treatments, Gilead introduced safer TAF alternatives under the brand names Genvoya, Odefsey, Descovy and others.
Plaintiffs alleged Gilead sat on this safer formulation for at least 11 years while it continued to make billions of dollars from more toxic formulations, leaving thousands of individuals who relied on the HIV drugs with severe side effects and injuries that could have been avoided.
Lawsuits Over Side Effects of Truvada, Viread, Atripla, Complera and Stribild
The HIV drug attorneys at Saiontz & Kirk previously reviewed TDF drug lawsuits filed by individuals nationwide who alleged they faithfully took Gilead’s HIV drugs, having nowhere else to turn and not realizing safer alternatives had been shelved to increase the company’s profit margin.
Individuals alleged they suffered kidney damage and bone loss injuries from taking Truvada, Atripla, Viread, Complera and Stribild, raising claims that Gilead failed to adequately warn about the risks of TDF toxicity and delayed the development of safer HIV medications.
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