Overview

• Unitaid, CHAI and Wits RHI backed Dr Reddy's, and the Gates Foundation partnered with Hetero, to produce generic lenacapavir at about $40 per person per year starting in 2027 for 120 low- and middle-income countries.
• Lenacapavir, sold by Gilead as Yeztugo, is a twice‑yearly injectable PrEP shown in large trials to be nearly 100% effective and has received WHO endorsement for prevention.
• Initial generic manufacturing will begin in India, with partners saying they are working toward regional production in the future.
• To cover near‑term needs before generics arrive, Gilead and global donors plan reduced‑price branded doses for 2 million people starting this year, and Zimbabwe was named by the U.S. Embassy as one of the first 10 countries selected for rollout.
• Advocates flagged access gaps because upper‑middle‑income countries such as Brazil are excluded from the licensing deals, and financing limits could constrain scale‑up relative to expected demand.