Through an agreement with Gilead Sciences, the Organization will facilitate access to this innovation in 14 countries through its Regional Revolving Funds, complementing existing voluntary licensing arrangements and supporting a longer-term strategy for sustainable access.
Washington, D.C., September 15, 2026 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) today announced a new pathway to access lenacapavir for HIV prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean through its Regional Revolving Funds, under an agreement with Gilead Sciences. The initiative will make the long-acting HIV prevention medicine available to 14 countries, complementing existing access mechanisms and supporting efforts to expand HIV prevention options across the Region.
Approximately 140,000 new HIV infections occur each year in Latin America and the Caribbean, underscoring the need to expand access to effective and acceptable prevention options.
Lenacapavir is a long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) administered twice a year. In 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended lenacapavir as an additional HIV prevention option following clinical trials that demonstrated almost 100% efficacy in preventing HIV infection. Its twice-yearly dosing provides an alternative for people who may face challenges with more frequent prevention regimens.
Under the new agreement, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela will be able to procure lenacapavir through PAHO’s Regional Revolving Funds, subject to applicable national regulatory and programmatic processes.
The new pathway complements voluntary licensing agreements that already cover 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under a broader global access framework covering 120 countries worldwide. Together, these mechanisms provide complementary routes for countries in the Region to access lenacapavir.
“Today, the Americas have increasingly effective tools to prevent HIV, but these innovations will have an impact only if they reach the people who need them,” said PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa. “This initiative is an important step toward reducing gaps in access to lenacapavir, expanding the prevention options available to countries and advancing efforts to end HIV as a public health problem,” he added.
Countries will be able to procure lenacapavir through the established procedures of PAHO’s Regional Revolving Funds, which pool demand and support efficient and reliable procurement for Member States under favorable conditions.
As part of this initiative, Gilead has also committed to advance a technology-transfer process in Brazilwith the aim of facilitating local production of Lenacapavir in the future. The process is still under development, and specific timelines and mechanisms have yet to be defined. In the longer term, increased regional production capacity could contribute to greater availability of lenacapavir and more sustainable procurement conditions.
“The agreement between Gilead and PAHO reflects our shared commitment to help countries move as quickly as possible from scientific innovation to real-world access to HIV prevention and public health impact,” said Johanna Mercier, Chief Commercial & Corporate Affairs Officer, Gilead Sciences. “Strategic partnerships are essential to our ambition to help end the HIV epidemic. This agreement demonstrates how collaboration between governments, public health organizations and industry can expand access, accelerate implementation and create the conditions for sustainable scale.”
The introduction of lenacapavir into national HIV programmes will take place progressively and will depend on national regulatory processes, clinical protocols, health-worker training and programmatic planning. PAHO is providing technical cooperation to support countries with needs assessment and quantification, guideline development, monitoring and health-system preparedness, helping to ensure that introduction is evidence-based and adapted to national contexts.
The agreement forms part of PAHO’s broader efforts to accelerate access to new HIV prevention technologies and strengthen regional capacity to produce health technologies. It is also aligned with the Alliance for the Elimination of HIV, a regional coordination platform within PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative.
Lenacapavir adds to a growing range of HIV prevention options, including daily or event-driven oral PrEP, long-acting cabotegravir and condoms, alongside early diagnosis and timely access to antiretroviral treatment. Providing people with a range of prevention options can help respond to different needs and preferences and support more person-centered approaches to HIV prevention.
Expanding access to effective prevention, diagnostic and treatment tools, and ensuring they reach everyone who needs them, will remain essential to reducing new HIV infections and advancing toward the goal of ending HIV as a public health problem by 2030.
