(NewsNation) — A new “vaccine-like” treatment could cost patients with HIV $40 a year, according to researchers, a thousand times less than the current price.
Early trials of lenacapavir, an antiretroviral drug, demonstrated “100% efficacy” as a preventive treatment for HIV. Researchers found the drug, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Gilead, only needs to be injected twice a year, making it easier to administer than daily pills.
Currently, the treatment costs more than $40,000 a year in several countries, including the United States, France, Norway and Australia.
Andrew Hill, a researcher at Liverpool University in the U.K., presented new research Tuesday at the International AIDS Conference. The research examines how the cost of producing the drug could come down if Gilead allowed for cheaper generic versions to be manufactured.
According to the research, which hasn’t been peer-reviewed, a year’s worth of the drug could be made for as little as $40. This estimate was based on production volumes equal to treating 10 million people.
“If the drug was given to people at high risk of contracting HIV – such as gay or bisexual men, sex workers, prisoners or notably young women in Africa – it could basically shut down HIV transmission. We could actually control the epidemic,” Hill said.
Last year, there were 1.3 million new HIV infections, and 39 million people are living with the virus, according to the World Health Organization.