Lenacapavir access demanded by AIDS activists in Brazil

AIDS activists at a major conference in Rio de Janeiro have demanded wider access to generic versions of lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV prevention drug that can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year.

Protesters went onto the stage at the opening of the 26th International AIDS Conference carrying signs criticising pharmaceutical companies. The dispute centres on access for middle-income countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, which participated in clinical trials but have been excluded from generic versions intended for lower-income countries.

Researchers say lenacapavir reduces the risk of HIV transmission by almost 100 percent and can be produced for $40 a year. Gilead Sciences, which owns the patent, sells the drug for around $28,000 per patient each year in the United States, covering two injections.

UNAIDS chief Winnie Byanyima called the exclusion of Latin America from licences for the drug an injustice. Antonio Flores, an infectious diseases physician at Medecins Sans Frontieres, said pharmaceutical companies were forcing countries in the region to pay very high prices despite trials being conducted there.

Jared Baeten, a senior vice president at Gilead Sciences, said the company was offering three million doses of lenacapavir with donor help while generic manufacturers prepare production. He said the doses were mostly going to low-income countries in Africa, and that Gilead had signed royalty-free licences with six generic manufacturers able to produce the drug for 120 countries.

Baeten said 600,000 people would be on lenacapavir by the end of the year. Byanyima has called for 20 million people to receive the drug.

Beatriz Grinsztejn, president of the International AIDS Society and leader of Brazil's participation in the clinical trials, said people in Brazil who took part in the trials would have guaranteed ongoing access to lenacapavir while the rest of the country waits.