Fire in the Blood
Dylan Mohan Gray
5 mins
3 key insights
Visual, audio & text
Feature-length documentary Fire in the Blood recounts the fight against American pharmaceutical companies to increase the availability of HIV/AIDS medication in developing countries.


Fire in the Blood

Fire in the Blood
by Dylan Mohan Gray
Overview
Life-saving medicines to treat HIV/AIDS arrived significantly later in developing countries than in the West. In Fire in the Blood, award-winning documentary filmmaker Dylan Mohan Gray recounts the journey to increased availability of these drugs for poorer countries in Africa and Asia. At the heart of this arduous process was a fight against the pharmaceutical behemoths who had a monopoly on HIV/AIDS medicines. The extortionate prices set by these corporations made life-saving medication completely unaffordable to developing countries.
By examining the U.S. patent system, Mohan Gray showcases how pharmaceutical companies were able to generate enormous profits while low-income individuals in developing countries were dying. Mohan Gray provides a compelling analysis of how global health advocates ended these patent protections and turned the tide on AIDS treatment in developing countries.
Favorite quote

People are dying and the medicines are in my briefcase.
- Bill Haddad, journalist, activist, and advisor to President Kennedy

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