WHO Recommends Quicker Access to New HIV Prevention Drug

As the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) for HIV prevention, and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and UK pharmaceutical corporation ViiV Healthcare announced an agreement to open up generic production and supply of CAB-LA in 90 countries, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called on governments in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to urgently include this drug in national HIV guidelines and accelerate its rollout to prevent HIV transmission.

Administered as an injection every two months, CAB-LA is the most effective form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people at high risk of HIV. However, as detailed in a new MSF report released ahead of the 2022 International AIDS Conference, the lack of transparency around the pricing and plans for registration of the drug and implementation-science conditions for procurement, set by ViiV, may still pose as barriers to access to this medicine, particularly in LMICs.

ViiV holds patents on CAB-LA in multiple developing countries. The patent monopolies of the pharmaceutical corporation may block access to more affordable generic formulations in those countries and allow ViiV to sell CAB-LA at high prices, keeping the medicine out of reach for many who need it unless licenses are issued to generic manufacturers, reports Medecins Sans Frontieres.

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MSF nurse mentor, Tinashe Mbirimi (right) mentoring a village health worker, Rinet Zhou on how to register people living with HIV (PLHIV) to collect antiretroviral treatment using the Out of Facility Community ART Distribution (OFCAD) model in Mwenezi, Zimbabwe.

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