Join Us for ‘24 Hours to Save AIDS Research’ 

Since January 20, the US Presidential Administration has been making massive cuts to HIV research, dismantling the infrastructure for conducting research and sharing misinformation on the benefits of research. The commitment and actions of the scientific and advocacy communities have been successful in reversing some of these actions and the pressure must continue.  

PEPFAR and Gilead Sciences announced plans to procure injectable lenacapavir for PrEP (LEN) in “countries with the largest HIV/AIDS epidemics…with a focus on preventing mother-to-child transmission” last week. This is not new news, since PEPFAR and the Global Fund had already announced an ambition to reach two million people with LEN in the first three years – and the Global Fund recommitted to the ambition in their July announcement with Gilead. “It’s a step forward from where we’ve been in a fairly paralytic state for the last seven months, and I hope that this breaks the logjam and at least can get prevention back on the agenda,” AVAC’s Mitchell Warren told NPR.  

See AVAC’s in-depth resources to inform an equitable and effective rollout of LEN. 

• The Gears of Lenacapavir for PrEP Rollout: Outlines a plan to specifying priorities by stakeholder and evaluates volume and pricing strategies with near term priorities over the next few years.  
• Moving a Product to the Real World graphic shows the delays in past efforts to rollout PrEP and hopeful signs for accelerated rollout this time, if we work collectively with speed, scale and equity. 
• Getting PrEP Rollout Right This Time shares key insights from earlier rollouts of PrEP (such as oral PrEP) to inform a faster, smarter and more equitable introduction of LEN and future PrEP products. 
•  Now What with Injectable LEN for PrEP? summarizes what is actually known – and not – and what needs to happen next with LEN.
   

Approved in July, lenacapavir for PrEP has tremendous potential to increase access and engagement in the United States, reaching individuals who have been unable to embrace PrEP in its previous formulations. Please join the Choice Agenda and the HIV BLUPrInt team for a deep dive into rolling out LEN in the US.