Indian drugmaker Cipla will make the injections in India and has plans to manufacture in South Africa, which is trying to grow its drugs manufacturing industry to meet the continent’s needs and reduce a dependency on imports that was exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis is an effective way for an at-risk HIV-negative person to reduce the risk of infection. But until recently, PrEP was only available in pill form. GSK’s product is the first non-pill option. Describing the licences as “welcome” in a statement, Médecins Sans Frontières /Doctors Without Borders said that GSK should provide more information on the current availability and price of the drug in low– and middle-income countries while waiting for generic production to begin.
The medical NGO said it had been in negotiations with ViiV for months to get enough supplies of the drug, but was still unable to meet demand. “ViiV should be ashamed: it has a life-saving HIV prevention drug at its fingertips but is failing to ensure there’s enough available for people who need it,” said Dr. Helen Bygrave, chronic disease adviser for MSF’s access campaign.