Gilead Applauds Collaborative Efforts to Launch Lenacapavir for HIV Prevention in South Africa

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gilead applauds the leadership of the Government of South Africa and the Global Fund for accelerating access to lenacapavir, a long-acting HIV prevention medication. This marks an important step toward expanding access to lenacapavir for communities most affected by HIV.

“South Africa is at the heart of global efforts to end HIV. With the country’s launch of lenacapavir, there is now an opportunity to rapidly accelerate progress,” said Daniel O’Day, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gilead Sciences. “Through partnerships with country leadership, the Global Fund, and the U.S. State Department via PEPFAR, Gilead is working to bring lenacapavir to the communities most in need, ahead of the broad rollout of generic versions of the medicine.”

South Africa carries the largest HIV burden globally, with approximately 7.8 million people living with HIV and an estimated 170,000 new infections each year, including a disproportionate impact on women, according to national epidemiological data. Despite significant progress, the scope of the country’s epidemic and the incidence of new infections underscore the need for more effective HIV prevention options. The Phase 3 PURPOSE 1 and PURPOSE 2 trials included many sites in South Africa, reflecting Gilead’s commitment to developing solutions in the communities most affected by HIV.

Gilead’s efforts to accelerate access are reflected through our global access commitments, including working with partners such as the Global Fund and the U.S. State Department, through PEPFAR to support initial supply (at no profit to the company), advancing voluntary licensing agreements to enable broad geographic reach, and supporting local and regional manufacturing pathways to strengthen long-term supply resilience.

Gilead is committed to supporting broad, equitable and sustainable access to lenacapavir for HIV prevention globally. Through our royalty-free voluntary license agreements with six manufacturers, we are enabling generic supply across 120 low- and lower-middle-income countries as part of a comprehensive access strategy to support long-term, lower-cost medication supply.

As highlighted by today’s announcement and the strong, coordinated leadership demonstrated in South Africa, the continued collaboration between countries, global health partners and industry will be critical to reaching people with new innovations at scale, reducing new HIV infections and advancing our shared goal of ending HIV as a public health threat.

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