The European Commission has approved a new preventive treatment for HIV: a biannual injection developed by the American pharmaceutical company Gilead.
General practitioners could administer the drug during a regular doctor's appointment – making the treatment much easier than current HIV prevention drugs, which are available as daily pills or bimonthly injections.
The new drug has been available in the United States since June under the name Yeztugo, but has now also received approval from the EU Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). It will soon be available in Europe under the brand name Yeytuo.
Gilead, the company behind the drug, demonstrated in clinical trials that the drug reduces the risk of HIV infection in adults and adolescents by more than 99.9%. This could represent a breakthrough in the fight against HIV, but there are concerns about its accessibility and cost. In the US, Yeztugo costs more than $28,000 (about €24,000) per year.
In Europe, approximately 25,000 new HIV-positive cases are registered annually, according to Professor Jean-Michel Molina, an infectious diseases specialist. According to him, this number "clearly demonstrates that current prevention methods are not working for everyone who needs them."
