It is said to be the closest the world has ever come to vaccination Aids the virus
The Twice-yearly shot It was 100% effective in preventing HIV infection in a study of women, and results published Wednesday show it works almost as well in men.
drug maker Gilead said it would allow cheaper, generic versions to be sold in 120 poor countries with high HIV rates – mostly in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. But it has excluded almost all Latin AmericaRates are low but rising, raising concerns that the world is missing an important opportunity to stop the disease.
“It’s so superior to any other prevention method we have, that it’s unprecedented,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima. He credited Gilead for developing the drug, but said the world’s ability to stop AIDS depends on its use in at-risk countries.
In A Report Released on Sunday to mark World AIDS Day, UNAIDS said the number of AIDS deaths last year – an estimated 630,000 – was the lowest since a peak in 2004, suggesting the world is now is at a “historic crossroads” and has a chance of ending. Epidemic
A drug called Lenacapavir is already sold under the brand name Sanlenka to treat HIV infection in the US, Canada, Europe and elsewhere. The company plans to soon seek authorization to use Sunlenka for HIV prevention.
While there are other ways to avoid infection, such as condoms, Daily pills, Vaginal ring and bimonthly shots, experts say Gilead’s biannual shot will be especially beneficial to marginalized populations who are often afraid to seek care, including gay men, sex workers and young women. are included
“It will be a miracle for these groups because it means they have to show up at a clinic twice a year and then be protected,” said UNAIDS’ Byanyima.
Such was the case with Luis Ruvalcaba, a 32-year-old man in Guadalajara, Mexico, who participated in the newly published study. He said he was afraid to ask for the government-provided daily contraceptive pill, fearing he would be discriminated against as a gay man. Because he participated in the study, he will continue to get the shot for at least one more year.
“In Latin American countries, there is still a lot of stigma, patients feel ashamed to ask for pills,” Dr. said Alma Minerva Perez, who recruited and enrolled a dozen study volunteers at a private research center in Guadalajara.
It is not yet known how widely the shots will be available in Mexico through the country’s health care system. Health officials declined to comment on any plans to buy Sanlenka for their citizens; Daily pills to prevent HIV were made freely available through the country’s public health system in 2021.
“If the possibility of using generics is opened up, I believe Mexico could be involved,” Perez said.
Bianima said countries other than Mexico that participated in the research have also been excluded from the generics deal, including Brazil, Peru and Argentina. “Now to deny them that addiction is unconscionable.” He said.
In a statement, Gilead said it has “an ongoing commitment to help enable access to HIV prevention and treatment options where the need is greatest.” Of the 120 countries eligible for the generic version, 18 are mostly African countries that account for 70% of the world’s HIV burden.
The drugmaker said it is also working on “establishing faster, more efficient pathways to reach people who need or want lenacapavir for HIV prevention.”
On Thursday, 15 advocacy groups in Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Guatemala and Colombia wrote to Gilead, citing “alarming” disparities in access to new HIV prevention tools while infection rates have dropped generic sunlenka in Latin America. asked to make available were growing
While countries including Norway, France, Spain and the US have paid more than $40,000 per year for Sunlenka, experts have calculated that once generic production is produced for less than $40 per treatment to cover 10 million people. can
Duke University’s Global Health Institute Director Dr. Having Sanlenka available in the most affected countries in Africa and Asia would be very beneficial, said Chris Beirer. But he said rising HIV rates among groups including gay men and the transgender population constituted a “public health emergency” in Latin America.
Hania Daniel Torres, a 30-year-old trans woman and artist in Mexico where Sanlenka was in the study, said she hoped the government would find a way to provide the shots. “Mexico may have the richest people in the world but it also has the most vulnerable people living in extreme poverty and violence,” Torres said.
Another drugmaker, Vive Healthcare, also skipped most of Latin America when it allowed generics of its HIV prevention in about 90 countries. Marketed as Apretude, the bi-monthly shot is about 80% to 90% effective in preventing HIV. In middle-income countries they cost about $1,500 a year, which is beyond the means of most to pay.
Asia Russell, executive director of advocacy group Health gapsaid that with more than 1 million new HIV infections globally each year, established prevention methods are insufficient. He urged countries like Brazil and Mexico to issue “compulsory licenses,” a mechanism where countries suspend patents in a health crisis.
This is a strategy that some countries have adopted for previous HIV treatments, including in the late 1990s and 2000s when AIDS drugs were first discovered. recently, Colombia issued its first compulsory license for the key HIV treatment Tivicay in April, without the permission of its drugmaker, Viiv.
Dr. Salim Abdul Karim, an AIDS expert at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, said he had never seen a drug that appeared to be as effective as Sanlenka in preventing HIV.
“Now the missing piece in the puzzle is how do we get it to everyone who needs it,” he said.
