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HIV drug could be made for just $40 a year for every patient (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 4 months ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/news@beehaw.org

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Lenacapavir , sold as Sunlenca by US pharmaceutical giant Gilead, currently costs $42,250 for the first year. The company is being urged to make it available at a thousand times less than that price worldwide.

UNAids said it could “herald a breakthrough for HIV prevention” if the drug was available “rapidly and affordably”.

Given by injection every six months, lenacapavir can prevent infection and suppress HIV in people who are already infected.

In a trial, the drug offered 100% protection to more than 5,000 women in South Africa and Uganda, according to results announced by Gilead last month.

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[–] skullgiver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl 2 points 4 months ago

based on the costs of lenacapavir’s ingredients and manufacturing, and allowing for 30% profit

But that's not how medicine development works, though. Drug companies will sink hundreds of millions or even billions into drugs, risking throwing it all away when it turns out the drug doesn't work. They need return on investment at the very least. They're still running trials the comic five or six years and need to go through the regulatory process after that, so I wouldn't expect this stuff to become available before competing drugs will be.

Of course, the cost to the people themselves should be minimal to make the drug accessible, but expecting every major drug to be sold at manufacturing cost is a great way to stop companies from developing new drugs.

From what I can tell, the source article states that the drug could be produced eventually for $40 or $100 per dose by a generic drug company assuming the trials work out and sufficient demand is maintained.

Another type of PrEP medication is already slated for generic production in 2027, while this seems to be scheduled to become available as a generic drug in 2028 at at the earliest, with 2026 being the earliest expected year for regulatory approval of this drug.

It's pretty great that we practically solved AIDS now, but it'll be years before the stuff tested in trials will be available at scale, let alone in countries that can barely afford the medication.