On October 14, 2026, Continuity Biosciences, a clinical-stage drug-delivery company based in Bradenton, Florida and Seattle, announced a grant of up to $9.6 million from the Gates Foundation to develop a subcutaneous, ultra-long-acting antiretroviral implant for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) aimed at low- and middle-income countries. The implant is designed to release prevention medicine continuously for multiple years from a single insertion under the skin (PR Newswire).

Why It Matters

PrEP keeps getting longer-acting: daily pills, then bimonthly cabotegravir, then twice-yearly **lenacapavir**, which we covered as it rolled out through [PAHO in Latin America](/stories/gilead-paho-lenacapavir-latin-america) and as [Brazil's SUS added injectable PrEP](/stories/brazil-sus-injectable-prep-cabotegravir). A multi-year implant would take clinic visits almost entirely out of the picture, which matters most where funding cuts are [hollowing out HIV services](/stories/hiv-services-collapse-uganda-zimbabwe-aid). This is early: no human data yet, and a Phase 1 trial is still ahead. Even so, a Gates bet on a "years, not months" product, with access-pricing commitments built in, shows where prevention funders think the category needs to go.

The grant covers the steps from lab to clinic: IND-enabling studies, filing an Investigational New Drug application, and starting a Phase 1 first-in-human study. The device uses Continuity's nanofluidic platform, in which engineered channels control the drug release rate at the device level. "HIV prevention shouldn't depend on remembering a daily pill or the next appointment," said co-founder and chief scientific advisor Alessandro Grattoni. CEO Ramakrishna Venugopalan described the real problem as "the burden of staying protected consistently over time" rather than a shortage of effective drugs. Under Gates Global Access terms, the company has committed to make the resulting technology available at an affordable price to people most in need in LMICs (PR Newswire; Business Observer).

The company points to the gap the implant is meant to close: 1.2 million new HIV infections in 2025 (UNAIDS). Daily oral PrEP works when taken but adherence is hard, and long-acting injectables still require regular clinic visits and a reliable supply chain (BioPharma APAC). Continuity is also applying the platform to type 1 diabetes, endocrinology, oncology and aesthetics (Business Observer).

Sources

Update — 2026-10-15

Initial entry — story first created.