(Reuters) -The World Health Organization on Monday recommended Gilead’s lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injection, as a tool to prevent HIV infection.
The recommendation, issued at the International AIDS Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, comes nearly a month after the U.S. health regulator approved the drug, giving patients new hope of interrupting virus transmission.
The twice-yearly injectable offers a long-acting alternative to daily oral pills and other shorter-acting options, reshaping the response to the disease especially among those who face challenges with daily adherence, stigma, or access to health care
“While an HIV vaccine remains elusive, lenacapavir is the next best thing,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
The WHO’s recommendations come at a critical moment as HIV prevention efforts stagnate with 1.3 million new HIV infections occurring in 2024 as funding challenges, stigma around the disease persist.
These infections disproportionately impact populations such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who inject drugs, people in prisons, and children and adolescents.
WHO has also recommended a public health approach to HIV testing using HIV rapid tests that would remove a major access barrier by eliminating complex and costly procedures.
Lenacapavir, part of a class of drugs known as capsid inhibitors, proved nearly 100% effective at preventing HIV in large trials last year.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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