The U.S. and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are stepping up efforts to broaden access to Gilead’s HIV prevention drug, with a goal of reaching 3 million people by 2028.
Initial deliveries of the drug, lenacapavir, have reached nine African countries, Global Fund said on Tuesday, adding that it would extend the provision of the treatment to 12 additional countries, including Dominican Republic, Fiji, Indonesia, Morocco, Rwanda and Thailand.
In July last year, Global Fund, which is an international partnership, and Gilead finalized their plans to supply lenacapavir to low-income countries, agreeing to provide enough doses to reach up to 2 million people over three years.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an independent international medical organization, said it is concerned that this does not address the fundamental barriers keeping this “game-changing” medicine out of reach for many of those who need it most.
“Any expanded access to lenacapavir is a good thing, but reaching only one million more people in three years is a tiny fraction of what’s needed to make a real dent in the HIV epidemic.” said Tom Ellman, director of MSF’s Southern Africa Medical Unit.
Lenacapavir is a subcutaneous injection given twice a year. It helps to overcome problems associated with daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis pills (PrEP) such as forgotten doses and difficulties in maintaining a steady supply.
The Global Fund said early program data indicates that uptake is particularly strong among priority populations, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, adolescent girls and young women, and people accessing such drugs for the first time.
Gilead has granted voluntary licenses to several manufacturers to produce generic versions of lenacapavir, helping to pave the way for expanded and more affordable supply in the future, Global Fund said.