The U.S. and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are intensifying their efforts to increase access to Gilead’s HIV prevention medication, lenacapavir, targeting 3 million individuals by 2028. Initial shipments of the drug have already reached nine African nations, with plans to extend availability to 12 more countries, including the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Indonesia, Morocco, Rwanda, and Thailand.
In a significant development last July, the Global Fund, an international partnership, and Gilead finalized an agreement to supply lenacapavir to low-income countries. The deal aims to provide enough doses to cover up to 2 million people over a three-year period.
Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an independent global medical organization, expressed concerns that this initiative does not fully address the core obstacles preventing widespread access to this “game-changing” treatment. Tom Ellman, director of MSF’s Southern Africa Medical Unit, remarked that while any increase in access is positive, reaching only one million additional people in three years falls far short of what is necessary to significantly impact the HIV epidemic.
Lenacapavir is administered as a subcutaneous injection twice a year, offering a solution to challenges linked to daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pills, such as missed doses and inconsistent supply. Early data from the Global Fund’s programs show particularly strong uptake among priority groups, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, adolescent girls and young women, and individuals receiving the drug for the first time.
Notably, Gilead has granted voluntary licenses to several manufacturers to produce generic versions of lenacapavir, facilitating the potential for expanded and more affordable access in the future, the Global Fund.
