Agents of Change: Long-acting Formulations for Prevention and Treatment of HIV

An earlier version of this publication contained inaccuracies regarding the coverage of the ViiV/MPP license on CAB-LA. This has been corrected in the new version.

38.4 million people were living with HIV and 1.5 million people were newly infected in 2021. To meet global targets for HIV treatment and prevention, access to long-acting medicines will be key.  

Long-acting formulations achieve sustained release of a medicine for weeks or months, and therefore do not need to be administered frequently. Long-acting therapeutic products for HIV can facilitate better adherence for people with and at risk of HIV infection. 

This technical brief by MSF’s Access Campaign summarises the access challenges for approved and investigational long-acting HIV medicines, including long-acting cabotegravir (CAB-LA), islatravir, lenacapavir and broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs). It calls on pharmaceutical corporations with long-acting medicines in their development pipeline to ensure access mechanisms are included earlier in their development, so early access to affordable generic formulations of these medicines can become a reality for people who need them.