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An affordable version of an injectable HIV-prevention drug will be made in South Africa for the first time potentially giving millions of people at risk of HIV infection access to a two-monthly jab that can almost eliminate their chances of contracting the virus.

The Indian drug company Cipla confirmed that a generic version of the prophylaxis, long-acting cabotegravir (CAB-LA), would be manufactured at its plants in Benoni and Durban.

Cabotegravir blocks HIV from entering a person鈥檚 cells. Studies have shown that it reduces to almost zero an individual鈥檚 chances of getting infected with the virus through sex.

Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, Professor of Medicine and Chief Operating Officer of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, told Newsday: 鈥淚t鈥檚 very effective but the big concern is that it would be unaffordable and not available to most people in Sub-Saharan Africa so getting it into the hands of generic companies really transforms that.鈥�

(Picture: Shows a medical syringe with pills. Credit: Getty Images.)

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