Six-a-year anti-HIV injection ‘more effective’ than daily pill

Jul 9, 2020

Aaron Drapkin

Researchers say long-acting new preventative drug is ‘game changer’ in fight against Aids

 

https://www.theweek.co.uk/107477/hiv-injection-more-effective-daily-pill

 

just revealed this week on bbc news

Only more effective because some people aren't disciplined to take a daily pill or on demand dosing, but still good news, no mention when available

Awright, inching closer to the holy grail, a vaccine for lifetime immunity.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-hiv-drug-year.html

 

Beyond that, he noted, longer-acting drugs could potentially offer a simpler way to prevent HIV in high-risk people: Right now, that's done with a daily pill regimen known as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).

However, much more work remains ahead. The new study, published July 1 in the journal Nature, offers a "proof of principle" that a dosing interval of every six months is possible, Rhee said.

The researchers found that in 40 healthy people, lenacapavir appeared safe and could remain active in the body for more than six months. And in 32 people with previously untreated HIV, a single injection reduced viral levels in the blood within nine days.

It's encouraging that the drug is "amenable to dosing every six months," said Dr. Rajesh Gandhi, an infectious disease physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.

Gandhi, who is also chair-elect of the HIV Medicine Association, agreed there is a need for longer-acting HIV drugs.

The catch is that HIV is not treated with one drug alone—to keep the virus suppressed and limit the chances of it becoming resistant to medication.

Good news for sex workers, Thai girls could get it, they don't show any interest in PrEP