Activists Demand Affordable HIV Prevention with Lenacapavir at International AIDS Conference

Hailed as "the closest thing to an HIV vaccine," activists and experts are calling for the immediate and affordable availability of a revolutionary HIV intervention. A study revealed that lenacapavir, which is currently sold by pharmaceutical company Gilead for over USD 40,000 per year as an HIV treatment, could be sold for USD 40 per year as a form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to help prevent HIV infection. This information sparked a massive protest led by activists during the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich. Experts from international organisations combating HIV and community groups focussing on prevention urged the corporation to make sure the product is priced affordably for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which account for 95% of HIV infections.

Gilead, a US pharmaceutical company, has come under fire for allegedly being open about how much it charges for the HIV medication lenacapavir. The medication costs USD 42,000 per person annually when used for HIV therapy. But as a PrEP intervention, each patient might pay as little as USD 40 year. Lenacapavir's cost as a PrEP intervention, according to critics, may be prohibitive for nations dealing with the HIV epidemic.

 A few conference presenters demanded that Gilead grant licenses to generic producers so they may create it at a lower cost by using programs like the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). Additionally, they charged that pharmaceutical companies were involved in the de facto worldwide two-tier system of drug delivery.