Kenya has been granted a licence to manufacture HIV prevention pill for African markets, making it one of the three countries in the continent set to produce the drug.
Pharmaceutical company Merck announced that it will licence seven generic drugmakers to manufacture a low-cost version of a new monthly HIV-prevention pill, with the decision intended to make the drug, Alimatravir, available in developing countries. The drug is a once-monthly oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medicine that protects against HIV after intake.
The study began last year and is being carried out by Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and is now on the tail end trial stage involving young women in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. In Kenya the drug will be manufactured by the Universal Corporation meaning the clinical evidence is being generated in the region, not imported as a finished product from elsewhere.
“Africa carries about a quarter of the World’s disease burden, yet we make less than 6% of our medical supplies. For decades our continent has had the heaviest share of the HIV burden. Now we have a chance to help produce one of the newest tools to prevent it,” said President William Ruto, in his speech read by Health CS Aden Duale at the United General Assembly high-level side event in New York.
Realization of the drug is being backed by several partnerships including The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that has invested $100 million into the drug’s late-stage trial and expects to add another $80 million to help get it through testing and to the market.
On the other hand, Unitaid is heavily investing infrastructure and supply chain security, providing direct technical support and funding to the three African manufacturing facilities. The United States International Development Finance Corporation has also been named as a partner mobilizing private capital in emerging markets.
The development is expected to equip communities protect themselves, secure their own supply chains and systematically halt new HIV infections.
