New research suggests that Gilead Sciences Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GILD) lenacapavir, sold as Sunlenca in the U.S. for HIV prevention, could cost patients just $40 annually. Currently priced at $42,250 for the first year, campaigners urge the company to significantly reduce costs globally. In December 2022, the FDA approved Lenacapavir in combination with other antiretrovirals to treat HIV-1 infection in heavily treatment-experienced adults with multi-drug resistant HIV-1 infection. At the International AIDS Conference in Munich, experts presented a study estimating that a generic version of lenacapavir could be produced for $40 a year, assuming 10 million people used it annually. The Guardian report added that slashed prices would also allow profit of around 30%. Dr. Andrew Hill of Liverpool University, who led the research, emphasized the significance of a biannual injection in preventing HIV, calling it the closest we’ve come to an HIV vaccine. Campaigners are advocating for Gilead to permit generic licensing through the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool in all low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), which account for ...