New HIV prevention drug could reach poorest countries by 2025, says health official [View all]

LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - A new long-acting preventive HIV drug could reach the world’s poorest countries by the end of 2025 or early 2026, a global health official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The ambition is to start deliveries of Gilead Sciences’ (GILD.O), opens new tab lenacapavir on that timeline, said Hui Yang, head of supply operations at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. However, she said a lot of things need to happen first, including the injectable drug receiving regulatory approvals from authorities like the United States Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization.

Lenacapavir is already approved for use as a treatment for multi-drug resistant HIV, costing around $42,250 for the first year of therapy in the United States. Clinical trials this year showed it is also very effective at preventing infection and Gilead is seeking approvals for the new use globally.

"We don't want...low and low-middle income countries to wait, to be at the back of the line," when these approvals come in, said Yang, an equality issue that has plagued the fight against HIV for decades.

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I have my reservations about Gilead, but this is promising.