Injections to prevent HIV are superior to prescription drugs that are usually taken for the same purpose in large clinical trials. The New York Times reported..
Dr. Monica Gandhi, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, says that injections taken once every two months offer an “attractive new option” for HIV prevention compared to medications that must be taken daily. I said I can do it. Times.
Currently, the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences HIV Known as over-the-counter prophylaxis, Truvada and Deskovy. The tablets provide what is called Pre-exposure Prevention (PrEP). That is, if you are infected with HIV, take it to prevent infection. However, PrEP tablets should be taken daily to maintain blood levels of the drug high enough to block the virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Taking PrEP tablets daily can reduce your chances of getting HIV by about 99%, but only if people stick to their daily regimen.
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According to The New York Times, Tolvada and Descovi also have high tagging, which could limit the spread of PrEP, especially in poorer countries. Without insurance, a 30-day supply of either pill could cost $1,600 to $2,000. PBS News Hour reported..
But soon, people may be able to choose a new injection drug called cabotegravir to protect themselves from HIV. The Times suggests that large-scale clinical trials are about 66% more effective than Truvada in preventing HIV infection in real-world scenarios. The findings presented at the AIDS 2020 Virtual Conference are “revolutionary,” Dr. Rochelle Warrensky, a Harvard researcher, told The New York Times.
The trial, conducted by a scientific collaborative study called the HIV Prevention Trial Network, included nearly 4,600 men and women having sex with men in seven countries. According to New York, ViiV Healthcare, the pharmaceutical company that developed Cabotegravir, confirmed that at least half of the participants in the United States were black men having sex with men. Times.
There are two groups in the trial, one group receiving cabotegravir and the other group receiving tolvada. The study was blinded, so people in the Truvada group received injections of placebo, while people in the cabotegravir group took placebo pills, neither participants nor the conductor of the trial knew who was getting what. Was ClinicalTrials.gov.. Thirteen participants who received cabotegravir were infected with HIV, while 39 who took tolvada became infected.
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Moreover, in a sample of 372 people who took Truvada, only 75% consistently took tablets on blood tests. Cabotegravir was even more effective in preventing infections when compared to patients taking Turbada as prescribed. Cabotegravir still requires patients to stay on schedule, but Gandhi suggests that the healthcare facility may offer short appointments just for shots, or the shots may be given from a pharmacy or a mobile van. Yes, the Times reported.
Cabotegravir has also been tested among Sub-Saharan African womenHowever, registering participants took time, the Times reports. The drug has not yet been tested in transgender men.
If Cabotegravir is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration next year or two years, the drug may compete with Turbada’s generic drug, which is expected to be launched in 2021. With that in mind, she said ViiV Healthcare needs to set prices lower, as the growth of competitors’ medicines may be lower.
“It’s exciting for another pharma company to join the PrEP mix,” Walensky told Times. “This will create competition and ideally lower costs.”
Originally published in Live Science.
