Karachi: Ferozsons Laboratories Limited has announced a significant development in the field of HIV prevention, having secured a royalty-free voluntary licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences. This agreement pertains specifically to the investigational once-yearly lenacapavir for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The expansion builds upon an existing strategy that focused on twice-yearly lenacapavir, broadening access to 120 high-incidence countries, primarily low- and lower-middle-income, amid ongoing Phase 3 trials of the drug.

According to information available from the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Ferozsons is among six global partners to have successfully signed this expanded voluntary license. The agreement aims to support manufacturing readiness, technology transfer, and future supply planning. If approved, the once-yearly lenacapavir could significantly enhance HIV prevention efforts by offering a single-dose solution that lasts an entire year, potentially overcoming barriers to uptake and persistence commonly associated with current PrEP options.

The approval of twice-yearly lenacapavir in multiple countries as PrEP has already established the drug's effectiveness in reducing the risk of sexually acquired HIV in adults and adolescents. Lenacapavir distinguishes itself with a multi-stage mechanism of action that inhibits HIV at various stages of its lifecycle, without known cross-resistance to other drug classes. Its development as a long-acting option continues in multiple clinical studies under Gilead's HIV prevention and treatment research program.

Ferozsons Laboratories will manufacture and sell the generic version of Gilead's lenacapavir in the designated 120 countries, pending regulatory approvals. The company will benefit from a technology transfer of Gilead's manufacturing process to scale up production. The injectable drug will be produced under a contract manufacturing agreement at Ferozsons' joint venture subsidiary, BF Biosciences Limited, while the oral variant will be manufactured and marketed directly by Ferozsons.

This move reflects ongoing momentum toward making twice-yearly HIV prevention medicine more accessible to regions with significant unmet needs, marking a substantial step forward in global HIV prevention efforts.