American food And the administration of the drug has just approved Lenacapavir, an injectable form of HIV prevention which is almost 100% effective and requires only two doses for the year. Science The magazine described the drug Most important scientific advance from 2024.

In clinical trials, Lenacapavir turned out to be 99.9% effective to prevent HIV infection by sexual transmission in people who weigh more than 35 kilograms. The drug, an antiretroviral, does not work by stimulating an immune response, but by blocking the HIV in reproduction during its early stages – of a specific level, by disturbing the function of the virus capsid protein. This happens as long as the body receives injectations every six months.

Lenacapavir has already been approved in certain countries as HIV treatment in people with virus forms resistant to other treatments. However, before this week, its prophylactic use had been approved anywhere, making the FDA decision a new important development in the fight against the epidemic of HIV / AIDS.

The drug is not the first medication that can be taken pre-fully to protect against HIV infection: pre-exhibition prophylaxis (PREP) pills were available in many countries, including the United States. But they must be taken every day and ensure continuous access to these drugs, and people really remember taking them, is a known challenge. We hope that the lasting effects of Lenacapavir will facilitate the protection of people against the virus.

According to its creator, Gilead Sciences, Lenacapavir will be marketed under the trade name Yeztugo. The company is committed to making 10 million doses by 2026.

“This is a historic day in the fight against HIV. statement Wednesday.

However, the price of Lenacapavir can be an obstacle to access. Yeztugo will have an annual list price of $ 28,218 for the person in the United States. Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of the United Nations Joint Program on HIV / AIDS (Unids), also Flagen in the past That the drug is unaffordable for many people in Africa, where medicine has the potential to have the greatest impact. About two thirds Among people living with HIV worldwide, live in sub -Saharan Africa.

Wednesday, gilead Details published From a two -part plan to provide access to LenacapAvir “in 120 countries with a strong rise in resources, which are mainly a middle and low income country.” A stage will be a “voluntary license”, this is where other companies have the authorization to produce and sell generic versions of a license product in a certain country. At the same time, the company says that it plans to “test the product on Gilead without profit in Gilead until generic manufacturers are able to fully support demand in the voluntary license countries”.

This story initially looked at Cable EN ESPAñol and was translated from Spanish.

Updated 6-20-2025 3:30 pm BST: Details of Gilead Science’s strategy to provide access to Lenacapavir in low and low-intercarrière countries have been helped.