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ACT UP, Health Activists, Attack Big Pharma In Global April Fool's Day Protests

In London, naked demonstrators took over the lobby of a major pharmaceutical company.

April 1 is a day for pranks, but healthcare advocates meant business today when they staged coordinated protests in Boston, Paris, London, New Delhi, and beyond, calling attention to how pharmaceutical companies limit access to drugs that combat life-threatening conditions like HIV and cancer.

In New York, AIDS activists joined the chants of "people, not profits," outside the offices of Pfizer, where a giant jester puppet was paraded around.

"The public won't be taken for fools by Big Pharma anymore!" said Luis Santiago from ACT UP New York, who said the greed exhibited by embattled pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli is just par for the course.

"We're standing up against the abusive practices of the global pharmaceutical industry, which continues to leave millions of people without access to the life-saving medicines they need."

In a statement, more than 25 health advocacy groups called Big Pharma on the mat over price gouging, tax loopholes and dishonest claims about costs.

April Fools' Day is an appropriate day to highlight both the extortionate price of medicines and the lack of transparency around research and development (R&D) costs.

Globally, more than two billion people do not have regular access to the critical medicines they need. This is one in three of the world's population. More than half of these people live in Asia and Africa. Every year, 10 million people die from diseases because access to effective treatments is blocked by drug pricing."

Protests were held outside the offices of Pfizer, Roche, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and elsewhere. In London, naked demonstrators occupied the lobby of Gilead's offices.

"We stand here naked, completely vulnerable, a state in which the current system leaves millions around the world," explained Jake Chambers from ACT UP London. "We also stand with bareness and honesty, and we demand that drug companies be exposed in the same way."

h/t: The Body

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