All language subtitles for Right.To.Try.2021.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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Is it worth me
dying for this?

That's so dramatic (laughs).

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YTS.MX

Interviewer: You're like,

"as long as you get it on tape."

(laughs) Oh my God.

My commitment to this trial, it,

yeah, it's worth, it
is worth dying for.

(touching music)

My name is Jeffrey Drew.

I have been HIV positive

for over 32 years now.

(touching music)

Judge: Do you
swear or affirm

that the testimony you
are about to give

is the truth, the whole truth

and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?

Group: I do.

In 1995, we told
patients with AIDS

they would
with certainty die.

AIDS plagued
my internship.

By the end of that year,

we had an FDA approved
HIV cocktail,

three drugs up to
14 pills a day,

which if taken without fail,

allowed AIDS patients to live.

At the time, the three
drugs of the cocktail

cost a total of $15,000
per person per year,

but the cost of these
drug regiments today

is $40,000 to $50,000
per person per year,

A 300% increase
in 25 years.

I just believe that
it's my responsibility

as a human being just to
try to do my best here,

and if that means helping
to gather information

for a cure, that appeals to me.

I had heard about the
trial the summer,

the beginning of the
summer of 2019.

They had already started,

they had a few people
involved with patient one,

and so there was an
excitement about it

and wasn't attached to big
pharma, and I thought,

"oh, that's interesting,"

and so it took me
awhile to consider it

because I didn't know
what it exactly entailed.

I was concerned about in the
long term, what would happen,

and even my HIV doctor, I
might as well just say this.

I mean, they don't know that
I've been doing this study

and I've just kept it from them,

because I don't want to be
cut off from the system.

I've been keeping
all my medications

because I don't know if
I'm going to need them.

Interviewer: Does
that scare you?

It scares the
shit out of me.

Interviewer: About
how many dollars

do you think this is worth?

Thousands I would say.

Yeah, yeah, but this one's
most important (laughs).

There's a law
allowing physicians and
patients

to try something
experimental

If the currently available
medications aren't working.

it's called the
Right to Try law,

and this is part of that.

It's not really a
clinical trial.

It's really kind of a
alternative, experimental,

investigational treatment
for individuals

whose virus is not
responding well,

and if their results
are promising,

then you can present
it to the FDA

and do a real clinical trial.

The right to try.
It's my body.

It's my body. What I
choose to do with it,

and just gathering that
information for these people

is my small way of being a part

of hopefully finding a cure.

You know, the
tragedy is,

is there are more
people living with HIV

in the US today than there
ever has been in history,

but it's not something
that is hitting

the front pages anymore.

(big band music)

My name is Jeffrey and I'm
Miss Nevada, Miss Lotta
Slots.

(applause)

Announcer: Ladies
and gentlemen,

please help me welcome, from
the Sahara Hotel, Lotta Slots.

I first started
becoming involved

with Best in Drag show in 1996.

Alexis Pitman asked me
to be a part of it,

and it was this
fundraiser to raise money

for people living with
AIDS who needed help

with housing or food
or paying their bills.

Announcer: Our girl,
Miss Nevada.

Now, wait a minute.

Exactly how did she win
the Miss Nevada Pageant?

Pageant Host: Honey,
that girl is so lucky,

there is a horse shoe
up her ass. Honey, oh.

Announcer: Explains that
walk, doesn't it?

Six, seven, then eight.

For an eight and a
two, and then hold up.

Jeffrey's participation
in the Best in Drag Show.

over the past 25 years
has been extraordinary

and he is part
of a group of men

that have raised over
$5 million for this agency.

When he took over the show,

it was a monumental undertaking
because it's 200 volunteers.

It's like wrangling
cats, but the point is,

is that Jeffrey has
made a commitment

to make sure that the
show is his very best

that it can possibly be
year in and year out.

He's synonymous today with
the Best in Drag Show.

We need to keep pushing
for more funding,

getting involved
in raising money,

and supporting groups
like Aid for AIDS,

and as my great, great friend,
Sammy Davis Jr. told me,

(crowd laughs)

"What the world needs now
is love sweet love."

(applause)

[Event Host] That's the
most we've ever raised.

The most it's ever been
before. Thank you so much.

It's a treatable
disease,

and so I believe this is all

about monopoly and making money.

Even with this
trial that I'm on,

there are five or six
others happening, too.

There are two
schools of thought

about why they're secretive.

Number one is to
maintain the integrity,

and then there is a
school of thinking

that says drug companies
are in the business

of treating diseases, not
necessarily curing diseases,

so those who may be looking
to actually cure a disease

may be at risk of
being bought out,

having their process challenged.

Interviewer: Are you
nervous at all?

I'm always nervous
when I come here.

I think we're getting
test results today,

but we're getting the whole
kit and caboodle, yeah.

They talk about this
race to find a cure,

and I don't know if
that's true anymore,

and we see it even with PrEP.

(sad music)

When I think about
the fact that Truvada for
PrEP

is only getting to 10%
of the people that need it,

What about the other 90%?

What about their families?

Gilliad
has shown as,

as unfortunately many
other big pharmaceutical
companies

have shown, that they're
willing to put profits

over patient health.

So the list price is
almost $2,000 in the United
States.

Why is it $8 in Australia?

Truvada, it still
has patent protection

in the United States and
in the rest of the world,

it is generic.

I can't comment on
the price in Australia

of the generic medicines.

In Australia,
PrEP is $8 a month.

In the United States,
it's almost $2,000 a month.

(crickets chirping)

Yeah, feeling lousy
after eight hours

of (coughs) doing a kind of,

having somebody
else's healthy cells

injected into me,

and then I came home
and I was okay,

and they were surprised that
I wasn't a lot more sick.

Creating new immunity
is something that

the only way we've
ever done that

is by taking people who have
life-threatening cancers

and wiping out their
immune system

with very highly
toxic chemotherapy,

and during this period of time,

they are at tremendous
risk of death,

tremendous risk of death,

probably about a 30 to
40% chance of dying.

So they, this kind of
procedure is not one

that's going to be
done for the masses.

We're seeing whether
or not we can do

a kind of a stem
cell transplant,

not a full one where we
wipe his immune system

out completely, because we
don't want to do that to him.

(sad music)

This is not about
the vilifying of profit.

This is about the
vilifying of choosing profit
over people,

and if we know that
a new person is infected

every 15 minutes and we've
been here two and a half hours,

that's 10 more people
who have been infected.

The more time we waste,
the more lives that we are
losing.

It's been a rough week.

So, it was a week of (exhales)

chemo, learning how to inject
myself with the chemo,

and going in and getting
the vaccine also,

and then all of a
sudden it hit like,

between the chills
and the fever,

and shitting on myself,
and throwing up,

and everything else,

and I just keep saying,
"what have I done?"

(water running)

(crickets chirping)

I was just stuck here.
I couldn't move.

The only way I was going
out was to walk my dog.

A couple of times,

I'd just be walking
down the street

and all of a sudden my
body would just start

shitting on itself
without even knowing

what was happening,

and then I would think what
would happen to me if I died,

and then I would think, then
I would think (laughs),

"who would be mad,
who would be sad,"

"and who would be happy
that I was dead?"

(laughs)

That's what I would
think about, yeah.

(laughs)

Yeah, that's what happens
when you have a fever.

(laughs)

(melancholy music)

My friends and I were just
sitting around waiting

to see who was going
to die first,

and we watched them.

We watched our friends
go one by one by one,

we took care of them. We
were bedside with them.

We were feeding them. We
were changing all that

I don't want to say trauma,
but it was, it was rough.

It was rough,

and these men were dying
with dignity and humor.

Oh my God, humor.

I don't want people to
forget their names,

because sometimes,
some days I do.

I forget about them.

(sad music)

I'm always busy doing things
and going places and stuff,

and this really slowed
it down, you know,

and each day I feel better,
but at the worst of it,

I was like, "what
the fuck did I do?"

and there's nobody to
blame, but myself,

so it's not like you can go
for a sympathy with anybody,

(laughs) so, and it kinda
just kinda freaks people out

that you're just playing
with your body this way.

(birds chirping)

It all goes back
to the initial patent

that Gilead was able to secure

on the pro-drug Tenofovir.

Their sole control
over this molecule

from the mid nineties
has led to their hold

over the HIV medication market.

It's a common theme
to do evergreening,

which is when a patent holder
will make small tweaks

to the patent to extend
their exclusivity period

and keep drug prices high.

The public, we, the
people develop this drug.

We paid for this drug.

We led and developed all
of the grounding patents,

and then that patent
has been privatized,

and as a result, people
are, are dying for no reason,

for no reason.

It is a
reasonable question,

what patent
length should be.

I'd like to have that
conversation and dialogue.

I don't know whether it
should be one year, five years,

17 years. I don't know.

Let's have that debate.

Interviewer: How
are you feeling?

You know what? Okay. (coughs)

Yeah, tired, exhausted,

So, I'm hoping a little coffee

will make me feel better.

(inhales)

I think that
survivor guilt

plays a huge part in
a lot of our lives,

and I think one of the
ways that it plays out

is in being so willing
to do whatever it takes

to find a cure so
that our existence

on the planet wasn't in vain.

How are you?

I'm good.

Greg approached
me to also do the trial

and I was open
to the possibilities

and I went in and I
said, "nah, I can't."

Right.

"I can't right now."

You can't.

Yeah, and you said yes.

Yeah.

There are my core
group of friends,

there were a few of them
that were just like,

"What are you doing?"

"This isn't proven.
You don't look well."

"You're really sick.
What are you thinking?"

Jeffrey was having
night sweats.

He was throwing up.

He was having chills.

He wasn't able to
get out of bed,

and I'm thinking to myself,
"I can't do that right now,"

and I just look
at Jeffrey again,

and I just go, "right on baby."

It takes a strong constitution

and that's my best friend.

That's how he rolls.

(bright music)

Obviously, companies are
going to be profit
motivated,

but when that
intersects with public health

and with the
welfare of individuals,

the question becomes,
should there be mechanisms,

whether it be the law or whether
it be legislative change

where a pharmaceutical company
should be held accountable,

where it makes a decision
solely based on profit,

or is there an additional
obligation that is owed

because it concerns public
health and individual health.

I am not getting paid.

It's all volunteer

and people are
surprised by that.

I'm four months into
this trial. I'm broke.

I never really planned
for the future.

because I never really thought
that I would be here.

I was supposed to go
to DC back in February

when my viral load
were so great,

and then with this whole
COVID pandemic situation,

they kept putting it off,

but now the scientists who
came up with this vaccine

has also been pulled into
finding a cure for COVID,

and so I get it, but
it's like, okay,

where do I fit into all this?

And where, what am I doing?

That always, I'm afraid
that all that this work

and this whole lifestyle
change this last year

would be affected and that
it would be discounted,

yeah, so I would assume
that it's all in order,

but then who knows?

Interviewer: How
are you feeling

about Best in Drag this year?

Good, excited, excited.

There's a lot going on.

In this world of COVID,
we are rehearsing

in a parking lot in Eagle
Rock to keep everybody safe.

And it's about producing
an opening number

that is social distancing.

We won't be dancing
on top of each other.

I noticed my concentration
is a little off

with all of it because it's
so hard to think sometimes

in this Groundhog's Day
of COVID right now,

I'm just grateful that I'm
physically able to do what I do,

and I can ask for
help if I need it.

The people that are so
affected by this disease

are the ones that, you know,

can't afford medication
or can't get medication,

and typically tend
to be minorities.

They tend to be poor.

They tend to be homeless,

and these are members of society

that the majority of
society wants to overlook,

and when you've got a medication
that some wealthier people

can afford, it's hard
to put a spotlight

on the ones that
actually need it,

and that are suffering
from this disease.

(intense music)

I think about the early
days, the eighties,

the nine, you know,
a PLA dance-a-thon,

the Paws benefit, pets
are wonderful support,

and even the Commitment to Life,

or they'd honor Barbara
Streisand or Elizabeth Taylor

and then charge a
gazillion dollars to go,

and none of that's
happening anymore.

It went from being
very high visibility

and lots of press stuff
to you never know

if it's going to make it
with the AP or anything.

Other diseases that
have taken over,

you know, more important.

People's lives are
not commodities.

You can say, "how much
is this phone worth to you?"

and you can say, "a
hundred dollars, two hundred
dollars."

You can buy a Nokia phone.
You can not have a phone at all,

but you cannot ask the question,

"How much will you
pay to be alive?"

"How much will you pay to live?"

because the answer
is "everything."

You will pay $10,

you'll pay a thousand dollars.

You will go into debt,

you will do anything to live,

and that is what makes
the price of medicine

different than the
price of an iPhone.

Announcer: Miss Nevada,
Lotta Slots!

We have the scientific
tools to end this HIV
epidemic,

and we are fortunate that
pharma has developed

these drugs to get us there.

They have already
profited enormously.

Now, in the spirit
of saving lives,

I simply ask that these
drugs be reasonably priced

so that those most
marginalized and at risk

can reap their benefit.

I hope that some
of these companies,

including Gilead will begin
to do the right thing.

It's never too late
for that. Thank you.

You ready to do this?

Yes.

Interviewer: Today's
the final day.

Hopefully, hopefully.

Interviewer: How long do you
think you'll be here?

Think I'm here for a
couple hours. I know that.

That's what they told me. So--

Interviewer: Are
you nervous?

I'm nervous, I'm
anxious, I'm irritated.

I just want to get this done.

I've been reflecting a
lot on the last year

and this commitment
and what am I doing

and why am I doing this,

and getting back to my life

and remember that I've been

going through this process
through a pandemic,

so it has to, I have to
surrender, you know,

my character defect
of lack of patience.

That's, I'm feeling a
little bratty today,

so that's what
anyone can (laughs)

This is my acting shirt (laughs)

I'm feeling like
a warrior today.

Interviewer: Yeah.

I don't want to cuss
anybody out though.

(Interviewer laughs)

(hopeful music)

With this whole blood
work that I did today,

That's new
information, you know,

we'll see, is this another
year of a commitment

or am I done?

Nobody's mentioned it to
me or told me, thank you.

Thank you for your
service (laughs).

Here's that fruit basket, you
know, nothing like that,

so I never, it's stressful,

and it always concerns me that,

what if this whole situation
that I've been involved with

for the last year and a
half is them selling it

to some conglomerate
or big pharma,

and by my volunteering
my time, and my body,

and everything this last year,

and then they benefited the
billions and I don't know what

it all means anymore, I don't.

Being involved with this trial

has made me even more baffled
by the whole process.

* 86,400 seconds in a day *

* I swear lately, most of
them have been a waste *

* I feel them come and
go, bury my mistakes. *

* But time just goes
on and on in a way *

* if I had one day
left to live, *

* And if the stars went
out on me, the truth is *

* Yeah, There's so
much I'd say and do *

* If I nothing lose,
nah, nothing to lose *

* Oh, I'd call my mother
and tell her I'm sorry *

* And never call her back *

* I'd pour my heart and
soul out into a letter *

* And send it to my dad *

* Like, oh my god, the time
I've wasted lost in my head, *

* Let me leave this world
with the hate behind me *

* And take the love instead *

* Give me only love, only love *

* Give me only love, only love *

* Give me only love, only love *

* Let me leave this world
with the hate behind me *

* And take the love instead *

* Give me only love,
only love, only love *

* Give me only love, only love *

* Only love, only
love, only love *

* Let me leave this world
with the hate behind me *

* Only the love instead *

* Let me leave this world
with the hate behind me *

* And take the love instead *

* Give me only love, only love *