Japan could become one of the first countries in the world to end the HIV epidemic, says the president of Gilead Sciences Japan, Kennet Brysting. The idea for now could seem a little too ambitious, but it is not entirely unrealistic, given that the availability of medicines that can prevent transmission of HIV. Drugs are not the cure, but control over the spread of virus to the point where the disease is no longer a major public health threat.

What Is The Role Of Preventative HIV Medicines?

Gilead's have two key drugs, Truvada and lenacapavir. These two are playing a crucial role in prevention. Truvada is taken as a daily pill, while lenacapavir requires two injections per year. It can make the virus undetectable in infected individuals and prevent transmission to those who are not infected yet. In trials, lenacapavir showed 100% efficacy in preventing HIV infections. This is why it is describe as "almost a vaccine".

In 2024, Japan also approved Truvada for HIV prevention, but the country has yet to approve lenacapavir for the same. Until now, people in Japan had been importing generic versions of Truvada or purchasing it from clinics that source it from overseas.

HIV In Japan

Up until now, Japan reported around 25,000 HIV infections, whereas 669 new cases were reported in 2023. For seven consecutive years, the number of new infections remained under 1,000. The downward trend thus shows that the virus has been controlled, however, getting to zero new infections remains the ultimate goal.

Brysting too acknowledged that simply having effective drug is not enough. What is important is to have a proper implementation, access and healthcare support to make sure that these treatments are widely available and effective.

What Are The Challenges In Implementation?

The biggest challenges is testing rates. There is a need to increase testing rates. At this very moment, around 86% people infective with Japan have been tested, but the goal is to increase it up to 95%, with an ideal goal of 100%. Without widespread testing, many infected people may not even know that they are infected and it could transmit the virus.

Another measure issue is the cost of preventative medication. While Japan's health insurance covers treatments for diseases, it does not cover preventative drugs. Those who purchase Truvada for prevention, pay around $470 per month. Some clinics in Tokyo offer generic alternatives too, which is cheaper, but they are not ideal.

Better Healthcare Support

Brysting expressed concern that individuals importing medications might not be consulting doctors regularly, which is essential for monitoring HIV status and overall health. Truvada users need to be tested for HIV initially and every three months, along with screenings for other infections and kidney function checks. Without proper medical supervision, there is a risk of misuse and inadequate protection.

Gilead is in discussions with Japanese authorities to improve access and insurance coverage for Truvada, and progress is being made. Japan has shown efficiency in approving critical medicines, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic when Gilead’s remdesivir was approved in just three days.

What Is The Way Ahead?

Gilead at this moment is not only focused on HIV and hepatitis C, but also expanding into oncology with innovative treatments like CAR-T cell therapy, which strengthens a patient's immune system to fight cancer.

However, Japan’s strict approval processes can slow down drug availability. Phase 3 clinical trials often need to be conducted within the country, and Japan tends to approve medicines much later than other regions. For instance, Truvada was approved for prevention in Japan 12 years after the U.S. and nearly 20 years after its approval for treatment. inancial factors also play a role. The Japanese government adjusts drug prices annually, often reducing them, which can make long-term investment challenging for pharmaceutical companies.

Bladder cancer detection could get easier, faster and much less invasive as a new urine test can help identify it. According to new UK research, patients may not have to wait for an invasive bladder examination just to get their cancer diagnosis.

The test, called GALEAS Bladder, detected almost 92.2% of bladder cancers in a study involving 964 patients across seven NHS urology departments. The findings were published in European Urology Oncology recently .

How Does The Urine Test Work?

In the study, patients had been referred for urgent investigation because of haematuria, or blood in the urine, one of the key warning signs of bladder cancer. Their urine samples were tested alongside the standard diagnostic method, which included cystoscopy.

Among the 964 patients who had a final diagnosis, 77 were found to have bladder cancer. The urine test detected 71 of those 77 cancers, making the success rate almost 92%.

It detected all 17 muscle-invasive bladder cancers identified in the study. It also picked up 35 of 36 high-grade cancers, equivalent to 97.2%.

Also read: PM2.5 and Cancer Risk: Practical Ways to Protect Yourself in India’s Polluted Cities

Could It Reduce The Requirement For Cystoscopy?

Cystoscopy remains an important part of bladder cancer diagnosis. The procedure involves passing a camera through the urethra into the bladder, so doctors can directly examine the organ.

While effective, cystoscopy is invasive and requires hospital resources. The researchers believe a urine-based test could help doctors decide which patients need an urgent cystoscopy and which patients may be able to safely defer the procedure.

According to this study, a negative GALEAS result was linked with a 99.3% likelihood of not having bladder cancer. Researchers estimated that using the test to triage patients could reduce urgent cystoscopies by about 730 per 1,000 patients, without reducing overall clinical benefit.

Professor Richard Bryan, Director of the University of Birmingham’s Bladder Cancer Research Centre and a study co-author, said the findings show that molecular urine testing can help clinicians determine which patients need urgent cystoscopy.

The test performed particularly well in patients whose blood in the urine was not visible to the naked eye. In this group, which represented about 30% of participants, the test identified all bladder cancers diagnosed in the study.

Also read: Have Dense Breasts? What Women Should Know About Their Breast Cancer Risk

Is The Urine Test A Replacement For Cystoscopy?

The researchers describe GALEAS as a tool to support decision-making before cystoscopy, rather than a complete replacement for diagnostic procedures. A positive result can help prioritise patients for cystoscopy, while a negative result may allow immediate cystoscopy to be deferred in appropriate cases.

The study does not mean that a person with symptoms can simply take a urine test and rule out cancer on their own. A suspected bladder cancer diagnosis still requires appropriate clinical assessment.

In the study, just 8% of participants were diagnosed with bladder cancer. The findings offer a useful way to make bladder cancer investigations more targeted, particularly where large numbers of people are referred for blood in the urine, but only a small proportion ultimately get diagnosed cancer.

India’s drug regulator has flagged a batch of Abhayrab, a widely used rabies vaccine, as “Not of Standard Quality” and misbranded after vaccine samples seized from an unlicensed premises in Delhi failed to meet potency test.

The development has raised concerns that the vials could be counterfeit, because the vaccine manufacturer, Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL), says the samples tested by authorities were not manufactured by the company.

Fake Batch Of Abhayrab Seized

The vaccine samples, carrying batch number KE25012, were seized on April 22 from an unlicensed residential premises in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi, during an enforcement operation by the Delhi Crime Branch and Drugs Control Department.

CDSCO officials carried out legal sampling, and the samples were sent to the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL), Kasauli, for testing. CDL subsequently classified the product as “misbranded” and “Not of Standard Quality.”

The laboratory report found that the sample failed the potency requirement, although it passed tests for sterility, moisture, thermostability and identity. It also identified 17 differences between the seized product and the genuine retention sample of the same batch, including differences in labelling, artwork, QR-code verification, cap colour, licence details and packaging text.

Also read: US Petting Zoo Visitors Warned After 4 Goats Test Positive For Rabies: Can You Get Rabies Without A Bite?

Manufacturer Says Seized Samples Were Counterfeit

IIL has denied manufacturing the vials that were seized in Delhi. In a statement released on September 4, the company said the laboratory had found 17 differences between the seized vials and its genuine retention samples.

“On that basis, the vials examined are not a product manufactured by Human Biologicals Institute,” the company said.

The company also said the genuine batch had been independently tested and released by CDL, Kasauli, with 83,370 vials supplied through its authorised distribution channel. It said no market complaint had been received for batch KE25012.

Also read: Bat Encounter While Sleeping: Why You Shouldn’t Ignore The Risk Of Rabies

Government's Action

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has asked state drug regulators to closely monitor the movement and distribution of batch KE25012.

In its August 27 statement , the DCGI directed officials to maintain “strict vigilance” over the batch and take regulatory action where necessary.

A government notice issued on September 5 said the action was part of ongoing efforts to detect “unauthorized manufacturing and distribution activities and prevent the circulation of misbranded and spurious medicines.”

Four people have been arrested by Delhi Police in connection with the case, while further investigation is underway. The government has also confirmed that no part of the concerned batch was exported to another country.

What Does This Mean For People Who Took Abhayrab?

The current alert concerns vials seized from an unlicensed premises, which the manufacturer says were not its genuine product.

IIL has said vaccines administered through hospitals, clinics, government healthcare facilities and licensed pharmacies reach patients through the authorised supply chain and are not affected by this matter.

As of now, authorities are tracing the source of the seized vials and investigating how products bearing the Abhayrab name and batch number entered an unauthorised supply chain.

Patients who suspect exposure must not to stop or delay rabies vaccination because of the alert. Anyone who has suffered a potentially rabid animal bite or exposure should seek medical care promptly and use vaccines obtained through authorised healthcare sources.

Even as dengue continues to wreak havoc globally, with more than 7.37 million cases reported worldwide so far in 2026, an experimental monoclonal antibody (mAb) has shown promise as a potential treatment in a Phase 2 trial.

Led by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the trial found that Dengue-mAb cleared dengue viremia and fever within 24 hours, offering early evidence of a potential therapeutic effect against the virus.

“This first-in-patient phase 2 randomized clinical trial demonstrated the safety of Dengue-mAb and its action on the clearance of dengue virus and fever,” the researchers, including those from Serum, said. “This is, to our knowledge, the first evidence of a preliminary therapeutic effect in patients with dengue.”

What Did The Trial Find?

Detailed in JAMA Network Open, the researchers found that the experimental Dengue-mAb was safe and well-tolerated and showed evidence of a therapeutic effect.

Dengue-mAb is a human-engineered, recombinant monoclonal antibody that neutralized all four dengue virus serotypes in animal studies and demonstrated safety in a Phase 1 trial in healthy adults.

Also read: Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika-Carrying Mosquito Breeding In UK: Are You At Risk?

The findings were based on a randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving 250 adults with dengue and a history of fever onset within 48 hours. Participants received one of four doses of Dengue-mAb — 3, 5, 7, or 9 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) — or a placebo, with 50 participants assigned to each group.

The primary outcomes were reduction in viremia at 24 hours and causally related serious adverse events (SAEs).

The antibody showed rapid activity against dengue virus and fever at all four dose levels tested.

Among participants who had detectable viremia at baseline, those treated with the 5- to 9-mg/kg doses became negative for dengue virus by eight hours, compared with 72 hours with placebo.

At 24 hours, fever clearance ranged from 92.9% to 100% in the Dengue-mAb groups, compared with 58.3% in the placebo group.

Why Does This Matter?

Read More: Dengue Is Spreading Beyond Monsoons And Into New Regions Across India, Says Expert

Dengue affects more than 200 million people each year, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions, and is expanding into new areas amid climate change and rapid urbanisation. The incidence of severe disease is also rising, increasing the need for effective treatments.

The result matters because there is currently no licensed antiviral drug for dengue anywhere in the world. Three vaccines are licensed, but people who develop dengue today generally receive supportive care, including fluids, fever control and monitoring, rather than a treatment that acts directly on the virus.

Dengue-mAb targets the virus, not just the symptoms. The rapid reduction in viremia raises the possibility of a treatment that could change how dengue is managed. However, whether the antibody can prevent severe dengue, hospitalization or deaths is not yet known.

Much of the dengue burden falls on health systems that may struggle to deliver an infused biologic to outpatients within 48 hours of fever onset.

What Happens Next?

The finding is still early. Phase 2 trials assess whether a drug produces a measurable effect in a relatively modest number of patients. They are not the studies regulators use to approve a medicine, and this candidate remains years away from becoming widely available.

Dengue Cases Worldwide And In India

According to WHO global surveillance data, more than 7.37 million dengue cases have been reported worldwide, including about 2.83 million confirmed cases and more than 5,100 deaths. India has reported more than 33,000 cases and over 40 deaths.