Long-Acting Medicine for HIV PrEP Becomes More Available

England-based ViiV Healthcare and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) recently announced the signing of a new voluntary licensing agreement for patents relating to cabotegravir long-acting (LA) for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Through this agreement, selected generic manufacturers will have the opportunity to develop, manufacture and supply generic versions of cabotegravir LA for PrEP, the first long-acting HIV prevention medicine in 90 countries.

This announcement comes just seven months after the first regulatory approval of cabotegravir LA by the U.S. FDA for at-risk adults and adolescents weighing at least 35kg to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection.

 Cabotegravir LA for PrEP (Apretude) is a long-acting injectable that has recently gained its first regulatory approval for HIV prevention in the USA.

Deborah Waterhouse, CEO at ViiV Healthcare, said in a press release on July 28, 2022, "This announcement represents a potentially game-changing moment in HIV prevention."

"Enabling at-scale access to generic cabotegravir LA for PrEP could play a significant role in averting the transmission of HIV, particularly amongst women and adolescent girls, and help end the HIV epidemic."

Each year, there are approximately 1.5 million new cases of HIV worldwide, most of which occur in resource-limited countries, with women and adolescent girls disproportionately impacted.

While oral PrEP options are available in many countries, challenges with adherence and stigma have limited their impact on some populations.

Access to an effective long-acting HIV prevention option could significantly contribute toward the goal of ending the epidemic.

ViiV Healthcare and MPP will now work closely with stakeholders and generic manufacturers to enable access to generic cabotegravir LA for PrEP as soon as possible.

Note: This medicine is not a U.S. FDA-approved vaccine. HIV vaccine candidate news is posted at PrecisionVaccinations.com/HIV.