🔶 Call for cheaper “HIV” medication at the World AIDS Conference

Doctors Without Borders said on Sunday, July 26 (4 Mordad), while the World AIDS Conference is being held in the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, that it is calling for a significant reduction in the price of the “lenacapavir” drug for prevention of infection with the HIV virus.

The 26th World AIDS Conference, which began today and will continue until July 31, is bringing together scientists, politicians, companies, civil society activists, and representatives of people living with the disease to discuss the future of the global fight against the HIV virus. Access to lenacapavir is one of the main issues at this conference.

Melissa Sharov, a global health expert at the organization, said: «No one should be deprived of access to HIV prevention simply because the price of a drug is artificially kept high.»

Doctors Without Borders is calling for the price of this medicine to be reduced to around 40 US dollars per person per year, and for the production of more widely available cheaper versions (generic drugs) to be made possible as well.

According to Doctors Without Borders, the American pharmaceutical company “Gilead” currently charges 28 thousand dollars for an annual dose of lenacapavir, which includes two injections. However, this price is not for preventive use of this drug, but rather is related to the treatment of people who were already infected with HIV and live in the United States.