EU Approves New HIV Preventive Treatment
This twice-a-year treatment reduces the risk of acquiring HIV.
There have been advances in the treatment of HIV since the early days of the Aids epidemic. This has given people a chance to live longer lives. Over the years, the focus has shifted to the prevention of developing HIV.
Preventive treatment usually involves taking daily pills, reported The Brussels Times. Now a new treatment option has been approved by the EU, a biannual injection that was developed by Gilead, an American pharmaceutical company.
The injections can be given in a doctor’s office, making the treatment easier than the current regimen of daily pills.
In Europe, approximately 25,000 new HIV-positive cases are registered annually, Professor Jean-Michel Molina, an infectious diseases specialist told the Brussels Times. According to him, this number “clearly demonstrates that current prevention methods are not working for everyone who needs them.”
About the New Treatment
The drug is officially known as lenacapavir, reported Reuters, and was proved 100 percent effective at preventing HIV in large trials in 2024. The drug is a form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) which prevents the virus from replicating and spreading. It is approved for both adolescents and adults.
The drug will be marketed in Europe under the name Yeytuo. It was approved by the FDA in the US in June 2025 where it is called Yeztugo.
The recent approval of the European Commission applies to all of the EU’s 27 member states as well as Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.
But before the drug can be available to the public, Gilead will need to establish pricing with each of the country’s health systems. In the US, the cost of Yeztugo is over $28,000 a year making many insurers holding off from using it.
What About Poorer Nations?
The World Health Organization has recommended lenacapavir as an additional PrEP option for HIV prevention. But the price tag will make it exceedingly difficult for poorer nations to purchase.
Gilead, along with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria plans to offer generic versions of the drug to 120 lower income countries. The drugmaker is now ramping up production under royalty-free agreements for the generics. This could supply up to two million people in poor countries.
This new treatment could help turn the tide on HIV numbers which have been rising and help to save the lives of millions of people around the world.
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