Stakeholders call for accessibility of ground-breaking new HIV medicines

Some experts, world leaders, and stars around the world have called  for the dramatic reduction in price of the ground-breaking new HIV medicines, to ensure global accessibility to all who need them.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the advocates included Nobel laureates Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Joseph Stiglitz, former President of Malawi, Dr Joyce Banda and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Others are artistes Olly Alexander (singer and actor), Stephen Fry (actor, writer, and presenter), Adam Lambert (singer and songwriter), David Oyelowo (actor, producer, director) and Arnaud Valois (actor).

Also, business leaders Mo Ibrahim and Paul Polman are amongst those who have joined the call in an open letter.

The letter was published in the run up to the International AIDS Conference, which opened in Montreal on July 29.

“ AIDS pandemic continues to take a life every minute, and new HIV infections are rising in too many communities.

“The breakthrough long-acting medicine only has to be taken every few months and is proving to be one of the most effective methods to prevent HIV transmission.

“In addition to the prevention tool available now, long-acting antiretrovirals could one day be part of revolutionizing treatment to prevent deaths.

“But these medicines are currently only available in high-income countries at a price of tens of thousands of dollars – far out of reach for people and governments in low- and middle-income countries.

“People in these countries need them most,’’ they said in the letter.

The advocates said that these long-acting HIV medicines could enable millions of adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa to protect themselves from acquiring HIV.

According to them, they can enable people from marginalised communities including gay men, transgender people, and sex workers, to receive a discreet injection every few months to protect themselves.

The letter called on ViiV, one of the world’s largest HIV pharmaceutical companies, to share their technology and know-how to boost production and set their price at a point where all countries could afford to buy these medicines.

In particular, it called on ViiV to tackle the barriers to access by taking some steps.

“Announce a lower price for the long-acting injectable ARV for prevention, CAB-LA, as close as possible to that of other HIV prevention medicines (PrEP).

“The current best PrEP option is approximately $60 per person per year. Make the price public and transparent, and include the cost of the accompanying syringe.

“Quickly finalise licences to produce generic versions of this long-acting ARV through the Medicines Patent Pool.

“Licence across the world’s low- and middle-income countries on a non-exclusive basis.