Two Indian generic drugmakers Hetero and Dr Reddys will be funded by the Gates Foundation and Unitaid, respectively, to produce and sell the twice-a-year anti-HIV shot around R692 per person per year.
That price is about the same as what it costs to stop HIV-negative people from contracting the virus by taking a daily HIV prevention pill.
The pill is stocked for free in most government clinics in South Africa, but studies have shown the injection, called lenacapavir, works better.
A soon to be released Wits modelling study, however, shows, if South Africa wants to end Aids by 2043, it would need to get millions of people to use the jab, far more than those who have used the daily pill so far.
The health department plans to start rolling out the original, branded version of the jab in April 2026 with money from the Global Fund.
When cheaper generics come to the market in 2027, it plans to expand the shot to more clinics.
We break down the potential budget implications in order for lenacapavir widely regarded as a likely gamechanger to stop HIV in its tracks.
Intodays newsletter, Mia Malan gives us the latest updates on lenacapavir, directly from UNGA 80 in New York.Sign up for our newsletter today.
Two Indian generic drugmakers Hetero and Dr Reddys will be funded by the Gates Foundation and Unitaid, respectively, to produce and sell the twice-a-year anti-HIV shot, lenacapavir, for 40 around R692 per person per year.
That price is about the same as what it costs to stop HIV-negative people from contracting the virus by taking a daily HIV prevention pill, which is stocked for free in most government clinics in South Africa.
