Dhaka, Nov. 3 -- The US Food and Drug Administration has granted tentative approval for a generic version of the world's only twice-yearly injectable HIV prevention drug, lenacapavir, opening a pathway to distribute affordable preventative care across 120 low- and middle-income countries.

Global health agencies project that the generic treatment will cost $40 per person annually in designated recipient nations across sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America, The Independent reports.

This matches the current price of daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) tablets while offering a far more convenient dosing schedule. Clinical trials demonstrated that the biannual injections virtually eliminated new HIV infections among high-risk tr...