Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (RDY) and Hetero Labs will start selling low-cost generic versions of Lenacapavir, an HIV prevention drug, for about $40 per year, beginning in 2027, Unitaid and the Gates Foundation said Wednesday.
Lenacapavir, developed by Gilead Sciences (GILD) and approved under the brand name Yeztugo, is a twice-yearly injection that showed near-complete effectiveness in preventing HIV in large clinical trials.
Unitaid, a global health agency hosted by the WHO, said it is providing technical and financial support to Dr. Reddy's, alongside the Clinton Health Access Initiative and South Africa's Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, which is part of the University of the Witwatersrand.
The Gates Foundation said it is working with Hetero to lower the cost and speed up access to this HIV prevention treatment for millions at risk in high-burden countries.