HIV Prevention Advances Face Access and Development Challenges

Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, Scripps Research and IAVI reported that an experimental HIV vaccine using a germline‑targeting strategy induced unusually strong broadly neutralizing antibody responses in non‑human primates. The preclinical study, published in Nature, marks a significant step toward a vaccine capable of protecting against diverse HIV strains.

Separately, the long‑acting HIV prevention shot lenacapavir, developed by Gilead Sciences, has shown near‑100% efficacy in clinical trials. However, its high price—about $14,000 per dose in the United States—has created a pricing impasse in several Latin American countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Peru, which are classified as upper‑middle‑income and therefore ineligible for the $40 generic price offered to low‑ and middle‑income nations. Activists and health officials have protested, calling the situation an injustice and urging Gilead to negotiate more affordable terms.