A new HIV-prevention drug that offers nearly complete protection with just two injections a year is raising hopes of curbing the global epidemic, but limited supplies are restricting access in many countries.
The drug, lenacapavir, developed by American pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, is a long-acting form of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, which helps prevent HIV infection.
The twice-yearly injections could provide an alternative to daily prevention pills and other existing treatments that require more frequent doses.
However, demand is outstripping supply in countries such as Uganda, where high-risk groups, including sex workers and people with HIV-positive partners, are struggling to access the drug.
The United States Food and Drug Administration on Monday tentatively approved a generic version of lenacapavir, potentially paving the way for wider distribution in 120 low-income countries at an estimated cost of US$40 per person annually.
That is significantly below the drug’s US list price of US$28,218.
The Global Fund hopes to reach three million people with the generic version by the end of 2028.
However, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, says the rollout target is insufficient and is calling on Gilead to make affordable doses available to more countries.
In Uganda, health workers say supplies have been quickly exhausted as demand increases.
One health facility in the western city of Mbarara received 40 doses in April, initially reserved for pregnant women at risk of HIV infection. After eligibility was expanded to include other vulnerable groups, another shipment of 70 doses received in June was used up within 10 days.
HIV prevalence in Mbarara is estimated at 10 per cent of the adult population, about twice Uganda’s national rate.
Health experts say wider access to lenacapavir could significantly reduce new infections, particularly in communities where transactional sex and other high-risk encounters contribute to transmission.
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