The organization charges a price of about $40 per person per year and widespread production of cheaper copycat (generic) drugs.Image: www.imago-images.de
Doctors Without Borders is calling for a drastically lower price for the drug lenacapavir, which is used to prevent HIV infection.
July 26, 2026, 05:20July 26, 2026, 05:20
“No one should be excluded from HIV prevention just because a drug is kept artificially expensive,” said Melissa Scharwey, global health expert at Doctors Without Borders, at the start of the World AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro. The organization charges a price of about $40 per person per year and widespread production of cheaper copycat (generic) drugs.
According to Doctors Without Borders, the US pharmaceutical company Gilead is currently charging $28,000 for an annual dose of lenacapavir with two syringes. However, the price applies to the treatment of people in the USA who are already HIV-infected and not to preventative use. The organization criticizes that such a price is unaffordable for health systems in low- and middle-income countries.
Two injections instead of daily tablets
Lenacapavir is injected twice a year for HIV prevention and can therefore be an alternative to daily tablets for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Daily intake is difficult for many people because they live in conflict areas, refugee camps and remote rural regions.
1.2 million new infections worldwide
According to the Action Alliance Against AIDS, around 1.2 million people worldwide become newly infected with HIV every year, and around 570,000 people die as a result of AIDS. For the first time, more than half of new infections are now occurring outside sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, the global HIV response is under pressure due to a sharp decline in international health funding.
The World AIDS Conference will take place from July 26th to 31st in Rio de Janeiro. Scientists, politicians, companies, activists and representatives of those affected discuss the future of the global fight against HIV. Access to lenacapavir is one of the central topics of the meeting. (sda/dpa)