Men rush for AIDS prevention drug as demand exceeds supply

Kampala, Uganda | URN | The Ministry of Health revealed Friday that demand for Lenacapavir, an HIV prevention injection launched in April, currently surpasses available doses, with more men demanding the twice-yearly drug.

Speaking at a meeting attended by HIV advocates, researchers and policymakers, Dr Herbert Kadama who coordinates Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) at the Ministry of Health, said more men than women, in a surprising trend, are going to health facilities seeking the drug that’s currently offered to those at very high risk of acquiring HIV.

Even as the drug is not for everyone but those thoroughly screened to meet the criteria, Kadama says they continue receiving many calls from different categories of people asking where and how they can get the drug.

At the launch in April, only 19,200 doses were available to cater to the 103 health facilities listed for supply, and according to Dr Peter Mudiope who heads HIV prevention in the ministry, another consignment is expected which will cater to those who will be due for the second dose in October.

The official further explains that this consignment was expected to arrive in the country this month; however, the manufacturer has informed them that it may arrive much later due to shortages of a tablet that complements the injection, also called the loading dose.

Mudiope says that even though the demand is quite high, the current price of Lenacapivir is still too high to be afforded by the government. At 28,000 dollars per dose, he says Uganda can for now only count on more donations expected from Global Fund and the American government to guarantee availability.

Meanwhile, in Uganda, studies that confirmed the effectiveness of this game-changer drug as PrEP were not conducted among men but among young women who were enrolled at three study sites in Kalangala, Masaka and Mityana.

Despite uncertainty over the sustainability of supplies, Dr Flavia Matovu Kiweewa, a senior scientist based at MUJHU Research Collaboration who was the lead researcher on the study, says availability of the jab to women who participated in the trial is guaranteed, and indeed ninety-five per cent of them currently have access and will continue accessing it.

Senior Research Scientist Dr Flavia Matovu Kiweewa speaking during the meeting on Friday

At MUJHU, Matovu explains they are prioritising pregnant and lactating women, and seventy per cent of their supplies go to them.

She, however, notes that supplies will become more available in about two years to come since Gilead, the manufacturer of the drug, has already signed agreements with six manufacturers to produce cheaper versions of the drug (generics), which are expected to be sold at a cheaper price of about 40 dollars per dose.

With the magic drug currently largely unavailable for all, officials in the Ministry of Health are urging the public to choose from other available options for PrEP. They include oral PrEP where a person at risk of HIV swallows a tablet per day, or Cabotegravir (CAB-LA), another injection administered every two months with the first two injections given four weeks apart.

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