A 100% Effective HIV Drug Currently Costs $42,250 a Year, But a Group of Scientists Are Trying to Drop It to $40 » TwistedSifter

Researchers have spent decades searching for an HIV vaccine, but while it has proven difficult, they have given patients new life and hope with the advent of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) which makes the virus undetectable and therefore impossible to transmit to others.

While a fully preventative option remains elusive, a breakthrough HIV drug billed as “the closest thing to a vaccine we have” appears on the verge of commercialization – and could be produced for far less than it currently costs.

Lenacapavir, marketed as Sunlenca by the US pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, Inc., was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for cases where other HIV drugs have failed or are not suitable, but recent trials also show promise as a potential alternative to PrEP.

The problem? A full first-year course of treatment costs $42,250 per patient, putting it out of reach for most Americans with HIV.

But a group of scientists and researchers are looking to change that.

Dr Andrew Hill of the University of Liverpool and his colleagues recently presented at a conference that the minimum price for a mass-produced generic version of lenacapavir, using the same ingredients and manufacturing process, would be $40 per patient, based on a 30 per cent profit and 10 million annual users.

In fact, they suggest that up to 60 million people a year would need to take the drug to have a significant impact on the spread of HIV.

“There is an injection that someone could have every six months without getting HIV. It is the closest we have ever found to a vaccine against HIV,” Dr Hill told the Guardian.

Hill and others are pressuring Gilead to allow generic licensing through the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool in all low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which account for 95% of HIV infections. “Similar mechanisms have been in place in the HIV treatment market for decades, with rich countries paying higher prices than poor countries,” according to The Guardian.

The drug was “100% effective,” according to Dr Linda-Gail Bekker, lead researcher on a trial of 5,000 people in Uganda and South Africa. A clinical trial targeting groups traditionally underrepresented in HIV research was also announced earlier this year, and there are hopes of similar success.

“For a young woman who has difficulty getting to a clinic appointment in the city or who cannot keep her pills down without being stigmatized or subjected to violence, a twice-yearly injection is the option that could protect her from HIV,” Dr. Bekker said.

For its part, Gilead quickly points out that the drug is still in the investigational phase, but that it “prioritizes speed to enable the most efficient path to regulatory approval of biannual lenacapavir for PrEP in countries that represent the majority of the global disease burden.”

Although Gilead says it aims to provide the drug to “people living in low- and lower-middle-income countries,” the current pricing structure is not consistent with that mission.

“You have a miracle tool that could transform access… for young women in Africa who could be freed from the stigma and fear of being attacked simply because they are seen swallowing pills,” UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said in a direct appeal to Gilead at the conference, as reported by Pharmaceutical Technology.

“Right now, Gilead and lenacapavir are sold at prices that are geared toward rich countries. This inequality has never served us well in the fight against HIV.”

Let’s hope that empathy will prevail over greed in this potentially life-saving battle.

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