The U.S. regulator has approved the injectable HIV prevention drug Yeztugo, the world’s first long-acting preventive therapy. The drug has shown near-complete efficacy, but its price and limited availability may make it difficult to implement.
The U.S. regulator has approved the injectable HIV prevention drug Yeztugo, the world’s first long-acting preventive therapy. The drug has shown near-complete efficacy, but its price and limited availability may make it difficult to implement.
As The Independent reports, the drug in question is lenacapavir, developed by Gilead Sciences. In the prevention format, it received the commercial name Yeztugo. It needs to be injected only twice a year subcutaneously, in the abdomen. The substance creates the so-called «depot effect», slowly releasing into the blood and providing long-term protection.
Clinical trials have shown it to be nearly 100% effective: in a large study of more than 5,000 women and adolescent girls in South Africa and Uganda, none of the vaccinated participants became infected with HIV, while 2% of those taking PrEP pills became infected. Similar results have been found in studies of gay and transgender people in the US and elsewhere.
Experts are calling Yeztugo a breakthrough because it eliminates the need for daily pills or frequent doctor visits. «This could really stop HIV transmission,» said Greg Millett of amfAR, a research foundation. He emphasizes that this prevention option is especially important for people who live in stigmatized environments or do not have regular access to medicine.
However, the drug’s effectiveness does not guarantee its widespread availability. The recommended price in the US is more than $28,000 per year, although the company claims insurance coverage and financial assistance programs. At the same time, due to political instability in the health sector — in particular, possible cuts to Medicaid funding — there is a risk that the drug will remain inaccessible to vulnerable groups.
Gilead has separately filed applications for the drug in other countries. The company has also reached agreements with six generic drugmakers to create cheaper versions for low-income countries, mainly in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.
Despite the ambitious goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030, more than 1.3 million new cases of infection are recorded worldwide each year. In the United States, this figure exceeds 30,000. Only about 400,000 Americans use drugs for pre-exposure prophylaxis of HIV. Experts emphasize that without mass access to new technologies like Yeztugo, it is still too early to talk about a real breakthrough in the fight against HIV.
We previously wrote about how the Treatment4Ukraine platform was developed for Ukrainians who found refuge from the war in Europe and need treatment. Here you can find information about available treatment for people living with HIV, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, and those on substitution maintenance therapy.
