Generic version of a drug already on the market, which can suppress and prevent HIV, would still yield 30% profit if the current price was slashed, researchers say
Knowing you have HIV decreases transmission by 90%. Giving antivirals decreases transmission by 99%. Back in the early 2000 I saw a paper saying we could make HIV tests for 10 cents a person if we wanted to produce enough for every person on the planet (0.1810^9= $800 million). That was something that could have been done back then. $40 a vaccine would be a price tag of $320 billion
Even with PrEP distributed freely (with a prescription) HIV is still spreading. So unfortunately it's not purely a money problem. A vaccine you only have to take yearly would dramatically change the landscape of transmission.
I said distributed freely. That's the case in a lot of places in Europe and Asia and I've read enough times on reddit that many Americans get it for free too.