A new vaccine-like HIV drug could cost as little as $40, say researchers quoted by AFP.
This drug currently costs over $40,000 per person per year.
The antiretroviral drug Lencapavir, developed by the American pharmaceutical giant Gilead, could potentially bring about a change in the fight against HIV.
Early trials show that the drug is 100% effective in preventing HIV infection. And it only needs to be injected twice a year, making it much easier to administer than current regimens that require daily pills.
"It's like getting vaccinated every day," said Andrew Hill, a researcher at the University of Liverpool.
The treatment currently costs patients more than $40,000 a year in a number of countries, including the US, France, Norway and Australia.
New research, which Hill presented at the International HIV Conference in Munich, examines how much the cost of making the drug could drop if Gilead allowed cheap versions to be made.
A year's worth of medicine can cost as little as $40. That's 1,000 times less than the current price, according to a study that hasn't been peer-reviewed.
The price is based on production volumes equal to those of treating 10 million people.
If the drug is given to people at high risk of contracting HIV -- such as gay and bisexual men, sex workers, prisoners and especially young women in Africa -- it can "virtually stop the spread of HIV," Hill stressed.
"We can really control the epidemic," he added.
Last year, 1.3 million new HIV infections were diagnosed. According to the World Health Organization, 39 million people are living with the virus. | BGNES
