The fight against HIV has taken a significant turn. On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new long-acting injection called Yeztugo, developed by Gilead Sciences. Given just twice a year, it offers an astounding 99.9% reduction in the risk of HIV transmission—raising new hope in the global effort to eradicate the virus.
As Catholics, we are called to recognize the dignity of every human person and to care especially for the sick, the vulnerable, and those often overlooked. The Church has long supported efforts to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, particularly in low-income regions where the disease continues to devastate communities. Gilead’s new drug, known generically as lenacapavir, represents a breakthrough—but also a test of our global commitment to justice and equity.
Gilead’s chairman and CEO Daniel O’Day called the approval “a historic day in the decades-long fight against HIV,” according to the company’s press release. And the data support the excitement. In two large clinical trials—one involving over 2,000 women in sub-Saharan Africa and another with more than 2,000 men and gender-diverse individuals—lenacapavir demonstrated remarkable results. The first trial reported a 100% reduction in infections, while the second recorded only two infections, for a 99.9% prevention rate. Both studies, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed lenacapavir to be more effective than the widely used daily PrEP pill, Truvada.
But despite this scientific success, barriers remain—most notably the drug’s potential cost. Analysts estimate the U.S. launch price of Yeztugo could reach $25,000 per year. For comparison, an earlier long-acting HIV prevention injection, cabotegravir, costs tens of thousands of dollars annually and has had limited uptake globally.
This brings us to a moral crossroad.
Winnie Byanyima, under-secretary-general of the United Nations, praised the innovation but cautioned, “Lenacapavir could be the tool we need to bring new infections under control—but only if it is priced affordably and made available to everyone who could benefit.”
From a Catholic perspective, this concern is urgent. Pope Francis has consistently called on the world to ensure that life-saving treatments are not the privilege of the wealthy but are extended to the poor, especially in matters of global health. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church emphasizes the “universal destination of goods,” including those that sustain health and life.
Gilead has taken preliminary steps toward wider access. In October 2024, the company signed agreements with six pharmaceutical manufacturers to produce generic versions of the drug in 120 low- and middle-income countries, pending regulatory approval. Additionally, in partnership with the Global Fund and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Gilead has committed to supplying doses for two million people.
However, political instability threatens the success of this plan. Cuts to PEPFAR under President Donald Trump’s administration have introduced uncertainty to the long-term global rollout.
Dr. Andrew Hill of Liverpool University has been outspoken about the need for affordability. “Even high-income countries will not be able to afford widescale use of lenacapavir at prices above US $20,000 per year,” he said, citing research that the drug could be mass-produced for as little as $25 per person annually.
As Catholics, we must ask: Will this medical advancement be guided by profit or by the preferential option for the poor?
The U.S. bishops have consistently affirmed that access to health care is a human right. A twice-yearly HIV prevention method could save millions of lives, restore families, and protect the dignity of entire communities. But only if justice—not market demand—guides its distribution.
The science is there. Now the moral decision is ours.
