Gilead Sciences to Deliver HIV Prevention Drug to Low-Income Countries

Gilead Sciences and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have finalized plans to supply a groundbreaking HIV prevention drug to low-income countries, in a bid to combat the ongoing epidemic. This comes despite a lack of funding from a key U.S. initiative.

The agreement involves Gilead supplying enough doses of the long-acting drug, lenacapavir, to benefit up to 2 million people over three years. The drug, recently approved by the U.S. FDA for preventing HIV, will be available in Global Fund-supported countries. Specific pricing details remain confidential.

The initiative prioritizes countries in sub-Saharan Africa with high HIV incidence rates. Despite funding challenges, Gilead remains hopeful for renewed U.S. financial support to reduce the global HIV disease burden over time.

(With inputs from agencies.)