New HIV Prevention Drug Lenacapavir Rolls Out in 2026

• The new HIV prevention drug Lenacapavir is expected to provide relief to the country after the United States cut funding for HIV-related programmes
• The drug is expected to be rolled out in 2026 and is expected to assist the country in getting the HIV epidemic under control
• The drug will be targeted at individuals with a high risk of exposure and will be administered to patients more than once a year

Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of Current Affairs, contributed coverage of international and local social issues, including health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests, and immigration in South Africa, during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

JOHANNESBURG — The rollout of the new HIV prevention injection Lenacapavir is expected to boost the drive to bring the HIV epidemic in the country under control, especially in high-risk groups.

According to Eyewitness News, Dr. Joel Stango from TB HIV Carte said that the injection is targeted at people who have a high risk of exposure. These include teenage girls and young women, sex workers, people who inject drugs, and men who have sex with men.

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Lenacapavir trials conducted in SA

Stango said that South Africa was one of the few countries in Africa where clinical trials were conducted. The trials showed promising results. Stango said the results showed that when it the injected in someone who is HIV negative, it almost eliminates their chances of contracting HIV. The injection will be administered every six months. The drug is a form of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and is intended mostly to reduce the chances of HIV infection.

Stango said that the country was starting to control the epidemic before United States President Donald Trump announced that funding for foreign aid would be cut. Stango remarked that the injection is also discreet and will reduce the stigma attached to HIV treatment.

Briefly News stories about HIV

The Department of Health said that it would provide HIV patients with Antiretrovirals for six months after Trump cut aid. The Health Minister Arron Motsoaledi said that the contingency plan is designed to mitigate the impact of Trump's order.

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Motsoaledi also said that the country must stand on its own after the United States cut funding for the United States Agency for International Development. He spoke on 6 March 2025 and said that the cancellation would not impact the government's purchasing of antiretroviral drugs.

UKZN conducts hopeful HIV cure trial

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the University of KwaZulu-Natal's scientists conducted HIV cure trials on women in Umlazi in Durban. The tests were conducted between July 2022 and January 2024.

The university's Africa Health Research Institute conducted a test on 20 women to study the effects of CAP256V2LS and VRC07-523LS. These antibodies bind to HIV to stop it. The studies were done on women who had a CD4 count of above 500. They tasked them to stop taking antiretrovirals for 18 months to determine whether the virus would rebound.

Source: Briefly News