One Shot Every Two Months Might Replace The Daily Pill In HIV Prevention

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Till now, Truvada ruled the US markets for HIV prevention. This daily pill has often been termed as the 'miracle drug' for lowering HIV infection incidence in the United State considerably. However, many people find it too much of a hassle to have to take the pill every day. Soon, a new AIDS vaccine called Cabotegravir may enter the market.

According to the NBC News, one shot of Cabotegravir injection might be able to keep high-risk people safe from HIV AIDS for two months.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that it is conducting the first-ever global clinical trial to test the efficacy and safety of the long-acting injectable drug called Cabotegravir vis-a-vis the daily oral PrEP (HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis drug or Truvada). This trial is taking place in eight countries across four continents - North America, South America, Africa and Asia. 4,500 gay and bisexual men and transgender women are being enrolled for this trial, since they have been found to be at the highest risk for new HIV infections.

The Centers for Disease Control report, which studied the HIV trends from 2005 to 2014, reported that about 1.2 million people in the US are living with HIV, and about 40,000 new HIV infections are diagnosed every year. The report also said that while there has been a decline of 18 percent in white gay and bisexual men, HIV infections rates are still on rise black, Asian American, and Latino gay men and transgender women.

A 2016 study published by the Aidsmap might explain these racial disparities. It revealed that 74% of people who filled Truvada PrEP prescriptions were white. Hispanics constituted 12% of Truvada users while African-Americans were 10% and Asians just 4%. In fact, it was found that the number of black Truvada users actually dropped from 12% to 10% from 2012 to 2015.

In the new study, researchers will give Truvada pills to some people and Cabotegravir injections to others to compare the latter's efficacy against the only commercially-available PrEP pill approved by the FDA. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH, hoped that Cabotegravir injection will work as well as Truvada in preventing transmission of the HIV virus.

The results of this clinical trial are expected to be announced by 2021, or sooner. A related trial testing of the new AIDS vaccine on young women will begin in 2017.