By Maggie Fick
LONDON (Reuters) -ViiV Healthcare, the HIV-focused joint venture majority owned by GSK, said on Monday it has expanded its licensing deal with the Medicines Patent Pool to allow generic production of its long-acting injectable HIV treatment cabotegravir.
The updated licence, which builds on an earlier agreement covering cabotegravir for HIV prevention, will enable three generic drugmakers to develop and supply the treatment for use in combination with Johnson & Johnson’s rilpivirine in 133 countries, including all low-income, lower-middle income, and Sub-Saharan African nations.
ViiV’s regimen — the only approved long-acting injectable treatment for HIV — is administered once every one or two months, an alternative to daily pills. The World Health Organization last week recommended long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine as a treatment option for people who are virologically suppressed but struggle with adherence to oral regimens.
The new licence also builds on an existing Medicines Patent Pool agreement covering cabotegravir for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), signed in 2022.
The existing licensees — Aurobindo, Cipla and Viatris — will now be able to develop and manufacture generic versions of the long-acting treatment, subject to regulatory approvals.
“As leaders in long-acting innovation we’re proud to be expanding our voluntary licence to include treatment,” said ViiV CEO Deborah Waterhouse. “We’re committed to working with partners like MPP to increase access and reach those most impacted by HIV.”
The announcement comes after Gilead Sciences and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria last week finalised a separate deal to supply long-acting HIV prevention drug, lenacapavir, to low-income countries at cost — part of a push to expand access to innovative HIV medicines in the Global South.
ViiV is majority-owned by GSK, with Pfizer and Shionogi as shareholders.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Comments