Drugmaker Gilead said it will allow cheap, generic versions to be sold in poor countries with high HIV rates β mostly in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. But it has excluded nearly all of Latin America , where rates are far lower but increasing, sparking concern the world is missing a critical opportunity to stop the disease. The drug called lenacapavir is already sold under the brand name Sunlenca to treat HIV infections in the U.
The company plans to seek authorization soon for the drug to be used for HIV prevention. While there are other ways to guard against infection, like condoms, daily pills , vaginal rings and bi-monthly shots, experts say the Gilead twice-yearly shots would be particularly useful for marginalized people often fearful of seeking care, including gay men, sex workers and young women. Such was the case for Luis Ruvalcaba, a year-old man in Guadalajara, Mexico, who participated in the latest published study.
He said he was afraid to ask for the daily prevention pills provided by the government, fearing he would be discriminated against as a gay man. Because he took part in the study, he'll continue to receive the shots for at least another year. How widely available the shots will be in Mexico through the country's health care system isn't yet known.
Byanyima said other countries besides Mexico that took part in the research were also excluded from the generics deal, including Brazil, Peru and Argentina. While countries including Norway, France, Spain and the U. Chris Beyrer, director of the Global Health Institute at Duke University, said it will be enormously useful to have the Gilead shots available in the hardest-hit countries in Africa and Asia.
Hannya Danielle Torres, a year-old trans woman and artist who was also in the study in Mexico, said she hoped the government would find a way to provide the shots. Another drugmaker, Viiv Healthcare, also left out most of Latin America when it allowed generics of its HIV prevention shot in about 90 countries. Asia Russell, executive director of the advocacy group Health Gap, said that with more than 1 million new HIV infections globally every year, established prevention methods are not enough.
