Global Agreement Slashes Price of HIV Prevention Drug ‘Lenacapavir’ from $28,000 to Just $40 per Year

New York/Geneva, 24 September 2025 – The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has hailed a major breakthrough following the United Nations General Assembly, where a new global agreement was signed to make the latest HIV prevention drug, Lenacapavir, far more affordable.

The price of Lenacapavir will be cut by more than 700 times—from around USD 28,000 (approx. THB 900,000) down to just USD 40 per person per year (approx. THB 1,300).

Lenacapavir, developed by US-based Gilead Sciences, is a long-acting injectable medicine that requires only two doses per year and has been proven highly effective in preventing HIV. Clinical trial results published in the New England Journal of Medicine confirm that the drug is 96–100% effective in preventing new infections.

This achievement was made possible through collaboration between UNITAID, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Wits RHI, and the Gates Foundation, which are supporting Indian generic manufacturers such as Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Hetero Drugs with financial mechanisms and production guarantees to ensure the medicine can be produced at low cost.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, stated:

“This is a watershed moment. A price of USD 40 per person per year is a leap forward that will unlock the potential of new HIV prevention medicines and save millions of lives worldwide.”

UNAIDS estimates that if around 20 million people at highest risk globally—including men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, and adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa—gain access to Lenacapavir, it could dramatically cut new HIV infections and mark a critical step toward ending AIDS by 2030.

Despite progress in reducing HIV infections worldwide, there were still 1.3 million new infections in 2024, far above the global target of 370,000 by 2025. The arrival of an affordable option like Lenacapavir is now seen as a “new hope” in the long-term fight to halt HIV transmission.

Source:

www.unaids.org/en/