Generic Production Agreements Poised to โExpand HIV Preventionโฃ Access in Africa & Beyond
New agreements aimed at producing generic versions of the revolutionary HIV prevention drug Lenacapavir offer the potential to protect individuals in low and middle-income countries for as little as 34 euros per person per year. These developments come at aโ critical juncture, as fundingโ cuts threaten to reverse โprogress in the global fight against HIV.
Experts warn that reduced financial support, particularly from major financier the โขUnited States, could lead to aโ surge in new infections. Projections โขindicate that without sustained funding, 6.6 million new HIV infections could occur by 2029, a meaningful increase from the 1.3 โขmillion new cases recorded in 2024.”Let us follow at the same level of new annual infections, which will not beโค the case because the situation will get worse due to the cuts,” stated Lรณpez casas, highlighting the escalating costs – the treatment of the 1.3 million newly infected in โข2024 alone exceeded $50 million.
The current moment presents a “unique opportunity” to eradicate AIDS,accordingโค to experts,due to the availability of effective medicines like Lenacapavir at potentially affordable prices. “That is why it isโ important to get the financing that allows the Lenacapavirโ toโข take all the people who need it,” Lรณpez Casasโ emphasized, advocating โfor a rapid expansion of preventativeโ treatment. He estimates that the number of people โreceiving preventative treatment needs to be “duplicated or tripled, in a narrow margin of time” to effectively control the epidemic.
While agreements on generic productionโ represent “a basic step” towards accessibility, particularly โfor vulnerable populations, Beatriz Grinsztejn,โ president of the International AIDSโ Society, cautionedโ that 2027 – theโ anticipated timeframe for generic availability – remains distant. She stressed the need for “urgent additional investment to avoid delays or access problems,” as some countriesโ are alreadyโ making “difficult concessions” due to funding shortfalls.
unitaid is alsoโค advocating for the future local manufacture of Lenacapavir toโ further reduce it’s price and for an expansion โคof the โcurrent voluntary license agreement, โฃwhich currently benefitsโ 120 countries. Currently, 22 middle and low-income countries experiencing rising HIV rates – including brazil, Argentina, Peru, and nations in Asia and Eastern Europe – are excluded from this agreement, according to Lรณpez Casas.
In the interim, initiatives โคare underway to improve access to lenacapavir. The US President’s Emergency Plan โfor AIDS Relief (Pepfar) and the World Fund have reached an agreement โขwith Gilead to supply the medicine to up to two million people โin low and medium-income โฃcountries at an undisclosed price. Pepfar, โwhich has operated for over 20 years providing prevention, treatment, andโข support, claims to have contributed to saving 26 million lives. the World Fund anticipates โdelivering โคthe first shipments of Lenacapavir โคto an African countryโ by the end of 2025.
