U.N. ​​Strikes Deal To Distribute HIV Prevention Shot In Low-Income Countries

Unitaid, a global health agency, said on Thursday that the Medicines Patent Pool had signed a deal to increase access to an HIV prevention drug.

Under the terms of the deal, a venture owned by Glaxo, Pfizer and Shionogi will give voluntary licensing of an HIV drug to poorer countries.

In 90 countries where over 70% of new HIV infections occur in 2020, MPP will be able to coordinate with qualified manufacturers to make cheaper versions of the drug.

A mode of delivery that could overcome some of the obstacles preventing wider use of other forms of pre-exposure prophylactics is the injection of long-acting cabgravir, which protects against HIV for two months after each injection.

Due to challenges with stigma and adherence, the oral pill form of pre-exposure prophylactics has limited its effectiveness in preventing HIV.

The deal will bring a much-needed preventative to countries with high HIV transmission.

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It was hailed as a game-changer when it was first introduced. According to the CDC, a daily pill cut the risk of HIV up to 99%. Taking the drug on-demand is less common than it used to be. A number of factors, including cost, accessibility, slow rollouts, and the strict adherence required for them to be effective not being suitable for some people, have led to a relatively small number of people at risk from HIV using oralPrEP. The shot was approved for use in the US by the FDA in December of 2021.

There are 1.5 million people. According to UNAIDS, there were more than one million new HIV infections in the year 2011. Girls and women are disproportionately impacted by these events. Thousands of girls and young women are being diagnosed with HIV every week around the world.

Tangent

According to UNAIDS, there were around 650,000 AIDS-related deaths in the world in 2011. Over 40 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the beginning of the epidemic. Many people living with HIV can live near-normal lifespans and have an undetectable viral load thanks to the development of antiretroviral drugs. Efforts are being made to increase availability of these drugs in less affluent nations.

Crucial Quote

Linda-Gail Bekker is the Director of the Desmund Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town. To get the most from innovation, we need access and scale up.

The Australian study found that HIV transmission dropped for men taking pre-exposure prophylactics.

It's time to stop wasting opportunities to end AIDS.