New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, scientists in a large clinical trial showed a twice-yearly injection of a new pre-exposure prophylaxis drug offers women complete protection from HIV infection. The clinical trial has been conducted in South Africa and Uganda.
Reports note that the trial tested whether the six-month injection of lenacapavir would offer better protection against the infection compared to two other drugs, both daily pills. Moreover, all three medications are pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) drugs.
According to Linda-Gail Bekker, the physician-scientist and the main investigator for the South African part of the study. For the trial, around 5,000 individuals participated in the trial that was conducted at three sites in Uganda and 25 sites in South Africa to test the efficacy of lenacapavir and two other drugs.
What is Lenacapavir (Len LA) drug?
Lenacapavir (Len LA) is a fusion capside inhibitor that interferes with the HIV capsid which is a protein shell that protects HIV genetic material and enzymes needed for replication. The drug is administered just under the skin and once every six months.
It is a randomised controlled trial, sponsored by the drug developers Gilead Sciences tested various things.
How safe is the injection?
After the first six months of the trials, the lenacapavir was safe and would provide more protection against HIV infection than PrEP for women between the ages of 16 and 25 years. This is considered to be a major trial because it gives people a ray of hope that we have a proven and highly effective prevention tool to protect people from HIV.
In the past year, there were around 1.3 million new HIV infections. However, that’s lesser than the 2 million infections seen in 2010, it is clear that at this rate we are not going to meet the HIV new infection target set for 2025 by the UNAIDS or potentially even the goal to end Aids by 2030.
Reports note that the trial tested whether the six-month injection of lenacapavir would offer better protection against the infection compared to two other drugs, both daily pills. Health Conditions Health News: Latest News from Health Care, Mental Health, Weight Loss, Disease, Nutrition, Healthcare
