New HIV shot offers hope

ROLL-OUT: CRITICS URGE BROADER REACH AS PLAN COVERS LESS THAN 10% OF GLOBAL NEED

- Eric Mthobeli Naki

A drug with 96 to 100% efficacy in preventing HIV will be available to 120 countries, including South Africa, starting in 2027.

This after two Indian drugmakers Dr Reddy's and Hetero announced last week they will roll-out lenacapavir, an injection administered just twice a year, to other countries and made accessible at a price of $40 (about R700) per person per year.

Lenacapavir is a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug, but instead of the usual pill that HIV negative people take to prevent HIV transmission, it is an injectable PrEP. Unlike the pill, which some people take daily, or on demand or when they plan to have sex, lenacapavir is administered twice a year per person.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) praised the fact that the groundbreaking injectable PrEP would be distributed to more countries at $40. But MSF demanded a broader reach and more ambition to end the HIV epidemic.

It warned that global plans need to prioritise key populations and include the lowand middle-income countries currently excluded from the licensing agreement.