A study shows that a twice-yearly shot was 100% effective in preventing new HIV infections in women in Africa. The shot is already used in the U.S. and elsewhere as a treatment for the virus that causes AIDS, and drugmaker Gilead is testing it for prevention.
Lab technician, Xolile Mhlanga, works with vials of lenacapavir, the new HIV prevention injectable drug, at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation’s Masiphumelele Research Site, in Cape Town , South Africa , Tuesday, July 23, 2024. Clinical trials co-ordinator Thandeka Nkosi, stands in front of Lab technician, Xolile Mhlanga, who works with vials of lenacapavir, at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation’s Masiphumelele Research Site, in Cape Town , South Africa , Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
The shots made by U.S. drugmaker Gilead and sold as Sunlenca are approved in the U.S., Canada, Europe and elsewhere, but only as a treatment for HIV. The company said it is waiting for results of testing in men before seeking permission to use it to protect against infection. Experts working to stop the spread of AIDS are excited about the Sunlenca shots but are concerned Gilead hasn’t yet agreed on an affordable price for those who need them the most. The company said it would pursue a “voluntary licensing program,” suggesting that only a select number of generic producers would be allowed to make them.
In a statement last month, Gilead said it was too early to say how much Sunlenca would cost for prevention in poorer countries. Dr. Jared Baeten, Gilead’s senior vice president of clinical development, said the company was already talking to generics manufacturers and understood how “deeply important it is that we move at speed.”
Byanyima compared the news about Sunlenca to the discovery decades ago of AIDS drugs that could turn HIV infection from a death sentence into a chronic illness. Back then, South African President Nelson Mandela suspended patents to allow wider access to the drugs; the price later dropped from about $10,000 per patient per year to about $50.
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