Gilead and PAHO expand twice-yearly lenacapavir access to 14 nations outside licensing deals

Gilead Sciences and the Pan American Health Organization announced an agreement to expand access to twice-yearly lenacapavir for HIV prevention as pre-exposure prophylaxis across Latin America and the Caribbean. Marketed as Yeztugo in the United States, the drug will reach 14 countries outside Gilead's voluntary licensing agreements, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, through PAHO's Regional Revolving Funds for coordinated procurement and implementation. New HIV infections in the region rose 13% between 2010 and 2024. Johanna Mercier, Gilead Sciences chief commercial and corporate affairs officer, said the agreement "reflects our shared commitment to help countries move as quickly as possible from scientific innovation to real-world access to HIV prevention and public health impact." She said strategic partnerships are "essential to our ambition to help end the HIV epidemic" and that the deal "demonstrates how collaboration can help accelerate access, support country-led implementation and create the conditions for sustainable scale." What is contested: none. The record shows no factual disputes. Gilead said it will continue working with PAHO on country readiness, scale-up, generic licensing, technology transfers and potential local production in Brazil. The partnership builds on the PURPOSE 2 trial assessing safety and efficacy of lenacapavir as PrEP. Availability depends on regulatory approvals and individual country decisions.