Munich: Gilead's Greed Kills
MSF calls on pharmaceutical corporation Gilead to make groundbreaking HIV prevention drug lenacapavir affordable for all
Today at the International AIDS Conference, a coalition of activists, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), called for immediate global action to break Gilead’s monopoly on lenacapavir in response to new data showing that generic lenacapavir can be produced at a price of one thousand times less than Gilead’s price of $42,250 (R777,930.24) per year. With mass production, costs for generic lenacapavir are estimated to be initially $100 (R1841,26) per year, with further reductions to $40 (R736,50) per year as demand increases.
The PURPOSE 1 trial has shown the safety and 100% efficacy of lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), in stopping HIV acquisition among cisgender adult and adolescent women. Worldwide, there are 1.3 million infections every year, with one new HIV infection every 24 seconds. Gilead has released no details about its plans for global access—beyond one statement. 25% of all new HIV infections are in Russia, Brazil, Philippines, Ukraine, and Thailand, all countries Gilead routinely excludes from licensing deals.
“Lenacapavir could be lifechanging for people at risk of getting HIV and could reverse the epidemic if it is made affordable in the countries with the highest rate of new infections,” said Dr Helen Bygrave, chronic disease advisor at MSF’s Access Campaign.
“MSF would be eager to start offering people lenacapavir in our medical programmes, but to do so, we need Gilead to license the drug to other producers through the Medicines Patent Pool to allow generic production and supply in all low- and middle-income countries. Gilead also needs to urgently publish a price for lenacapavir that is affordable for governments and people everywhere. Research released today shows that one year’s supply of lenacapavir could be sold at a profit for under $100 per person per year, but Gilead currently charges over $42,000 per year in the US. This kind of pricing undermines the potential of this scientific breakthrough and slows the global effort to turn the tide on HIV and AIDS.”
“100% effectiveness demands 100% access,” said Asia Russell of Health GAP, a global HIV advocacy organisation.
“Lenacapavir for HIV prevention is a potentially pandemic-defeating intervention. Gilead has a long track record of undermining global access by excluding middle-income countries from voluntary licensing deals and artificially restricting licensees. Therefore, we call on governments to break Gilead’s monopoly, by issuing non-voluntary licenses, wherever Gilead’s patents present a barrier.”
“In India, we will fight Gilead’s patents on lenacapavir so that we have a supply of generics for all low- and middle-income countries,” said Loon Gangte of the Delhi Network of People Living with HIV (DNP+).
HIV community organisations in India, Argentina, Thailand and Vietnam have filed eight oppositions against Gilead’s lenacapavir patent applications–the Thai Network of People living with HIV (TNP+), DNP+, Fundación Grupo Efecto Positivo, and the Vietnam Network of People living with HIV (VNP+).
“100% effectiveness demands 100% access,” said Asia Russell of Health GAP, a global HIV advocacy organisation.
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About Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is a global network of principled medical and other professionals who specialise in medical humanitarian work, driven by our common humanity and guided by medical ethics. We strive to bring emergency medical care to people caught in conflicts, crises, and disasters in more than 70 countries worldwide.
In South Africa, the organisation is recognised as one of the pioneers in providing antiretroviral treatment (ART) in the public sector. It started the first HIV programme in South Africa in 1999. Until today, the focus of MSF’s interventions in the country has primarily been on developing new testing and treatment strategies for HIV/AIDS and TB in Eshowe (Kwa-Zulu Natal) and Khayelitsha (Western Cape).
In Tshwane, we run a migration project, and we offer medical and psychosocial care to migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who struggle to access public health services under South Africa’s increasingly restrictive.
Previously, we offered free, high-quality, confidential medical care to survivors of SGBV in Rustenburg.
To learn more about our work in South Africa, please visit this page on our website (www.msf.org.za). To support MSF’s work:
- SMS “JOIN” to 42110 to donate R30 Once-off
- Visit https://www.msf.org.za/donate
