Highly effective prevention drug arrives in South Africa, which has world's highest HIV burden

SECUNDA, South Africa (AP) — Growing up witnessing the devastating effects of HIV in her family and community in South Africa pushed Olwam Plaatjie to start using preventive HIV medications three years ago.

“Sometimes they’d lose weight, they would get sick and have to go to the clinic, and I didn’t want that for me,” she told The Associated Press. “I’d see the people I live with taking (antiretroviral) pills for HIV every day, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle that life.”

The 19-year-old is one of thousands of South Africans who signed up for clinical trials of lenacapavir, a highly effective, twice-yearly injectable prevention drug that addresses the drawbacks of daily oral prevention pills.

Despite night sweats and other side effects, she is continuing with the medication after South Africa this month became one of the world's first countries to introduce it.

President Cyril Ramaphosa told a stadium crowd at the launch of the drug's rollout that lenacapavir is a “turning point” in South Africa, which carries the highest burden of HIV globally.

But health advocates say the country deserves many more doses after South Africa's central role in the work that brought the promising drug to the world.

South Africa has over 8 million people living with the virus. It is hoped that lenacapavir will help curb new infections in the country, which range from 140,000 to 170,000 annually.

“If South Africa can deliver it equitably and at scale, it could make a meaningful contribution to reducing new HIV infections,” said Leila Mansoor, a senior scientist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Center for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa.

Clinical trials in South Africa and Uganda evaluated the efficacy of lenacapavir, which was developed by Gilead Sciences. A crucial study in Johannesburg concluded that a six-month injection demonstrated 100% effectiveness in protecting against HIV.

“It was a groundbreaking finding,” said Dr. Nkosi Ndlovu, senior clinician at the research institute Wits RHI.

Now South Africa's government has acquired doses sufficient to cover 456,000 people for a year, funded by a $29 million Global Fund grant. After that, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said South Africa aims to fund its program independently, with help from donors.

Some South African civil society organizations, however, call the rollout plan inadequate, asserting that at least 2 million doses per year are necessary to significantly affect new infection rates.

Ramaphosa has vowed to reach 3 million South Africans over the next three years, but hasn't given details.

There are concerns about access for South Africans despite the country's contribution that made lenacapavir possible, said Tian Johnson, health strategist for the Johannesburg-based health advocacy group African Alliance.

“Our communities participated in the research, our clinics hosted the trials and our scientists helped produce the data,” Johnson said. “Yet we are still waiting for Gilead to determine how much of the product we receive, when it arrives and how quickly access can expand.’’

The health minister has said Gilead committed to granting a voluntary manufacturing license to a South African company following the granting of six licenses to other countries last year. That allows cheaper generics to be made for lower-middle-income countries for $40 per person annually, down from the original $28,000 price tag.

The drug would be manufactured in South Africa after a committee is established to identify the appropriate company, he said.

The first batch of 37,920 doses is being distributed across 360 health facilities in six provinces that have high HIV rates.

South Africa is initially focusing on high-risk groups, including injectable drug users, sex workers, transgender people, adolescent women aged 15 to 24 and pregnant or nursing women.

But it can be difficult to reach them. Sweeping U.S. aid cuts by the Trump administration forced many of their preferred locations for receiving HIV care to close.

“Key populations, sex workers, people who use drugs, they don’t normally use public clinics” because of challenges like long lines and staff attitudes, said Bellinda Thibela, international policy and advocacy coordinator for the Health Global Access Project.

“So it means that we’re going to lose them unless the government acts fast and ensures that they put the resources to reach those people,” Thibela said.

South Africa's health minister has said patients from the 12 U.S.-supported clinics that shut down were transferred to existing government facilities, and efforts are underway to train staff and create private spaces.

“What we have lost is that confidentiality, where they were going to these clinics that are very special to them, where they feel very safe,” Motsoaledi said. “So we are trying to train our doctors to take over.”

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, among other delegates, hold a box of Lenacapavir during the official launch of the drug's rollout programme in Secunda, South Africa, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayleen Morgan)

Secunda residents receive medical services at a mobile clinic during the rollout of Lenacapavir in Secunda, South Africa, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayleen Morgan)

Young people hold posters as they attend the launch of the Lenacapavir rollout programme in Secunda, South Africa, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayleen Morgan)

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa holds a box of Lenacapavir during the official launch of the drug's rollout programme in Secunda, South Africa, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayleen Morgan)

Thandeka Shabangu, a nurse, holds Lenacapavir before administering it to a patient at a mobile clinic in Secunda, South Africa, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayleen Morgan)

MUNICH & ESPOO, Finland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 9, 2026--

IQM Quantum Computers, the global leader in superconducting quantum computers, has developed a novel quantum error-correcting code that achieves up to three orders of magnitude lower logical error rates than the surface code, also requiring up to eight times fewer physical qubits.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260609533201/en/

Unlike many alternative high-performance quantum error-correction approaches, the new code also maintains a comparatively low hardware complexity, marking a significant advancement toward scalable fault-tolerant quantum computing.

Quantum error correction remains one of the defining challenges in the race toward practical quantum computing. Errors introduced by noise must be corrected faster than they accumulate, a requirement that previous approaches demanded either complex hardware or significant performance trade-offs, which IQM's codes address both constraints simultaneously.

IQM´s breakthrough technology, called barbell codes, is a family of quantum low-density parity-check (QLDPC) codes tailored to IQM's Constellation, a unique quantum processor topology with enhanced planar connectivity where each qubit can natively interact to 12 other qubits; vs. four qubits in a conventional square grid topology, but only requiring three couplers for the computational qubits and six for the central elements.

By exploiting qubit connectivity and requiring only a single long coupler connection for every other qubit, barbell codes make high-performance error correction with dramatically reduced hardware complexity a reality.

The development details and numerical performance analysis published by the IQM team on arXiv demonstrate a major advancement in quantum computing. Barbell codes are constructed by connecting two sites of standard planar Constellation connectivity with a single long coupler for every second qubit, thereby providing the capability for generating entanglement between such pairs.

Therefore, this unique design eliminates the need for additional long-range crossing couplers on open boundary conditions — simplifying fabrication without compromising performance. The result is a solution engineered not for ideal laboratory conditions, but for the practical realities of superconducting qubit manufacturing.

“We are pioneering the next chapter in quantum computing,” said Jan Goetz, CEO and Co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers. "Our approach offers a highly competitive path to scalable quantum error correction with superconducting qubits, paving the way for large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers."

IQM has sold more quantum systems than any other manufacturer and will deploy 150-qubit systems to customers later this year. The company has further announced IQM Halocene, an advanced quantum computer for error correction codes.

The barbell codes approach aligns with the company's development roadmap, positioning IQM on a credible path to fault-tolerant quantum systems with hundreds of high-precision logical qubits and possibility of quantum advantage across multiple industries.

IQM recently announced increased commitments to its PIPE, driven by upsized investor demand ahead of its planned Nasdaq listing through a merger with Real Asset Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: RAAQ).

About IQM Quantum Computers

IQM Quantum Computers is a global leader in superconducting quantum computers, delivering full-stack quantum computers and cloud platform access to research institutions, universities, high-performance computing centers, national laboratories and enterprises worldwide. IQM's on-premises deployment model gives customers direct ownership and control of their quantum infrastructure. Founded in 2018, headquartered in Finland with major operations in Munich, it has over 400 employees. IQM operates across Europe, Asia, and North America. IQM has filed an F-4 registration statement to the SEC with the intention to become the first publicly listed European quantum company on Nasdaq Global Exchange in the U.S by merging with Real Asset Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: RAAQ).

IQM´s breakthrough technology, called barbell codes.