PEPFAR and Global Fund expand lenacapavir access to 1 million more people

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) announced that the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and The Global Fund will invest in expanding access to lenacapavir, the company's twice-yearly injectable HIV prevention medicine, to reach an additional 1 million people over the next three years.

The commitment brings the total access commitment to 3 million people in high-incidence, resource-limited countries through 2028. Lenacapavir is the first HIV prevention therapy to reach communities in sub-Saharan Africa in the same year it was approved in the United States, with initial shipments expected to arrive at the end of 2025.

Gilead is providing lenacapavir at no profit to The Global Fund and PEPFAR in countries with urgent need. The company has established voluntary licensing agreements with six generic manufacturers, with large-scale generic rollout expected in 2027.

"Lenacapavir represents one of the most important breakthroughs ever seen in HIV prevention, and Gilead's priority is to ensure broad access as quickly as possible," said Daniel O'Day, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gilead Sciences.

Lenacapavir is approved in multiple countries as pre-exposure prophylaxis to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV in adults and adolescents at risk of HIV acquisition. The medication is also approved for treating multi-drug-resistant HIV in adults when combined with other antiretrovirals.

Approximately 1.3 million new HIV infections occur globally each year. The medication received recognition as Science magazine's 2024 "Breakthrough of the Year."

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