Press Release
23 July 2024
MSF calls on Gilead to make groundbreaking HIV prevention drug lenacapavir affordable for all
Today at the International AIDS Conference, a coalition of activists, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), called for immediate global action to break Gilead’s monopoly on lenacapavir in response to new data showing that generic lenacapavir can be produced at a price of one thousand times less than Gilead’s price of $42,250 (R771,20) per year. With mass production, costs for generic lenacapavir are estimated to be initially $100 (R1825.48) per year, with further reductions to $40 (R730.19) per year as demand increases.
“Lenacapavir could be life-changing for people at risk of getting HIV and could reverse the epidemic if it is made affordable in the countries with the highest rate of new infections.”
Dr Helen Bygrave, chronic disease advisor at MSF’s Access Campaign.
The PURPOSE 1 trial has shown the safety and 100% efficacy of lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), in stopping HIV acquisition among cisgender adult and adolescent women. Worldwide, there are 1.3 million infections every year, with one new HIV infection every 24 seconds. Gilead has released no details about their plans for global access—beyond one statement. 25% of all new HIV infections are in Russia, Brazil, Philippines, Ukraine, and Thailand, all countries Gilead routinely excludes from licensing deals.
Point of care testing of CD4 count. In the picture the health worker is injecting blood in cartridge. Nsanje, Malawi ART Point of Care.
Isabel Corthier/MSF
“Lenacapavir could be life-changing for people at risk of getting HIV and could reverse the epidemic if it is made affordable in the countries with the highest rate of new infections,” said Dr Helen Bygrave, chronic disease advisor at MSF’s Access Campaign. “MSF would be eager to start offering people lenacapavir in our medical programmes, but to do so, we need Gilead to license the drug to other producers through the Medicines Patent Pool in order to allow generic production and supply in all low- and middle-income countries.
Gilead also needs to urgently publish a price for lenacapavir that is affordable for governments and people everywhere. Research released today shows that one year’s supply of lenacapavir could be sold at a profit for under $100 per person per year, but Gilead currently charges over $42,000 per year in the US. This kind of pricing undermines the potential of this scientific breakthrough and slows the global effort to turn the tide on HIV and AIDS.”
MSF Staff march to Gilead booth at the International AIDS Conference 2024.
MSF
“100% effectiveness demands 100% access,” said Asia Russell of Health GAP, a global HIV advocacy organization. “Lenacapavir for HIV prevention is a potentially pandemic-defeating intervention. Gilead has a long track record of undermining global access by excluding middle-income countries from voluntary licensing deals and artificially restricting licensees. Therefore, we call on governments to break Gilead’s monopoly, by issuing non-voluntary licenses, wherever Gilead’s patents present a barrier.”
“In India, we will fight Gilead’s patents on lenacapavir so that we have a supply of generics for all low- and middle-income countries,” said Loon Gangte of the Delhi Network of People Living with HIV (DNP+).
HIV community organizations in India, Argentina, Thailand and Vietnam have filed eight oppositions against Gilead’s lenacapavir patent applications–the Thai Network of People living with HIV (TNP+), DNP+, Fundación Grupo Efecto Positivo, and the Vietnam Network of People living with HIV (VNP+).
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MSF is the largest non-governmental provider of TB treatment worldwide and has been involved in TB care for 30 years, often working alongside national health authorities to treat people in a wide variety of settings, including chronic conflict zones, urban slums, prisons, refugee camps, and rural areas. As of September 2021, across 60 programmes in 41 countries, MSF treated 17,000 people with TB, and 2,300 people with DR-TB, including with the newer drugs. msfaccess.org
Source: MSF South Africa
https://www.msf.org.za/news-and-resources/press-release/msf-calls-gilead-make-groundbreaking-hiv-prevention-drug
Contact:
Shailly Gupta
Communications Advisor
MSF Access Campaign
Shailly.GUPTA@geneva.msf.org
"Reproduced with permission - Médecins Sans Frontières - MSF"
Médecins Sans Frontières - MSF
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