Highly Effective HIV Drug to Be Offered at Low Cost to Poor Countries

01A yearly two-shot treatment shown to be highly effective in preventing HIV infections is to be offered at low cost to people in 120 poor nations.

02Experts have called the treatment the closest the world has ever come to developing a vaccine against HIV.

03HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

04It is an infection that destroys cells of a person's immune system and makes it difficult for them to fight off diseases.

05The HIV virus can progress to the related disease AIDS.

06The World Health Organization, WHO, explains that AIDS is a term used to describe the most advanced stages of HIV infection.

07American-based drugmaker Gilead is the developer of the medication called lenacapivir.

08The drug is already sold under the name Sunlenka to treat HIV infections in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and elsewhere.

09But Gilead plans to seek approval soon for the medication to be used to prevent HIV infection.

10Studies have shown the twice-yearly injection was 100% effective in preventing HIV infections in a study of women.

11And another recent study found the drug worked nearly as well in men.

12Winnie Biannima is the executive director of UNAIDS.

13She told the Associated Press that the shots had worked so well, she sees them as an unprecedented treatment.

14Biannima praised Gilead for developing the drug.

15But she noted that the world's ability to stop HIV AIDS also depends on its use in at-risk countries.

16Gilead has said it plans to offer low-cost, generic versions of lenacapivir for sale in numerous poor countries with high HIV rates.

17These are mostly in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.

18However, the company does not plan on launching the drug in most of Latin America.

19HIV infection rates are far lower in Latin America than Gilead's targeted countries.

20But critics of the drug company's deployment plans say HIV in these countries is increasing.

21So several groups have called on Gilead to reconsider its plans to include sales in Latin America.

22In a recent report, the United Nations Program on HIV-AIDS, UNAIDS, noted the number of AIDS deaths last year, an estimated 630,000, was the lowest since 2004, when AIDS deaths were at their highest.

23The organization suggested the decreasing numbers mean the world is now at a historic crossroads with a chance to end the epidemic.

24There are other methods to protect against HIV infection.

25These include condoms, daily pills, and bimonthly shots.

26But experts say the Gilead twice-yearly shots would be especially useful for underrepresented groups.

27These could include people fearful of seeking care, including gay men, sex workers, and young women.

28Bianyema told the AP the treatment would be a miracle for these groups because it means they just have to show up twice a year at a clinic and then they're protected.

29A collection of 15 activist groups in Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Guatemala, and Colombia recently wrote to Gilead to voice their concerns.

30They are asking for the generic version to be made available in Latin America.

31They say there is alarming inequity there in providing new HIV prevention tools with infection rates rising.

32Countries including Norway, France, Spain, and the U.S.

33have been paying more than $40,000 per year for Sunlenka.

34But experts have said it could be produced for as little as $40 a treatment once generic production expands.

35In a statement, Gilead said it has an ongoing commitment to help enable access to HIV prevention and treatment options where the need is the greatest.

36Among the 120 countries approved for the generic version are 18 mostly African nations that make up about 70% of the world's HIV cases.

37The drug maker said it is also working to establish fast, efficient pathways to reach all people who need or want lenacapavir for HIV prevention.

38Dr.

39Chris Beirer is the director of the Global Health Institute at Duke University in North Carolina.

40He said it will be greatly useful to have the Gilead shots available in the hardest-hit countries in Africa and Asia.

41But he added that rising HIV rates among groups, including gay men and transgender populations, represents a public health emergency in Latin America.

42I'm Brian Lynn.