Geneva, Switzerland: UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima has called out pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences for placing profit before lives following the U.S. FDA’s approval of lenacapavir, a long-acting HIV prevention drug, at a staggering annual price of over $28,000.
Byanyima, who also serves as United Nations Undersecretary-General, said the pricing of the new injectable medicine risks excluding millions of poor African women and girls, the demographic most vulnerable to new HIV infections, from what could be a revolutionary prevention tool.
“Complete protection against HIV with two injections a year. And research shows it could cost just $25 per person per year. But Gilead Sciences is going to charge more than 1,000 times that,” Byanyima posted on X. “Not acceptable. Gilead, you can be part of ending new infections and ending AIDS.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved lenacapavir for HIV prevention. The drug is administered twice a year and has shown nearly 100% effectiveness in trials.
UNAIDS hailed the approval as a “breakthrough moment,” noting it represents decades of public investment, scientific excellence, and community collaboration.
However, in its official pricing disclosure to The New York Times, Gilead listed a U.S. price of $28,218 per person annually, a figure Byanyima described as “beyond comprehension.”
UNAIDS cited new research published in The Lancet HIV, showing that lenacapavir could be produced and supplied for as little as $25 per person-year if manufactured generically at scale.
“If this game-changing medicine remains unaffordable, it will change nothing,” Byanyima warned. “I urge Gilead to do the right thing. Drop the price, expand production, and ensure the world has a shot at ending AIDS.”
UNAIDS has previously warned that inequitable access to new HIV prevention tools will widen the global gap in infection rates.
In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women account for over 60% of new HIV infections, despite being a minority of the population.
Experts argue that unless pharmaceutical firms agree to lower pricing or license generic production, lifesaving innovations like lenacapavir will remain out of reach for low- and middle-income countries.
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