In the United States, health services have released preliminary results from a major clinical trial. It is a question of a drug whose injection every two months would make it possible to be protected against the AIDS virus. It is a less restrictive prevention solution than PrEP tablets, which must be taken on a daily basis.
In a press release published on May 18, 2020, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States evokes a revolution in the prevention of AIDS. This revolution has a name:cabotegravir . It is an HIV integrase inhibitor type molecule. In other words, assimilating it (via an injection) amounts to protecting oneself from the AIDS virus.
More than three years ago, a large clinical trial waslaunched in seven countries including South Africa, Brazil, the United States and Thailand. Cabotegravir was then tested on men who regularly have sex with other men (and transgender women) under the age of 30. Remember in passing that this is the population most exposed to risks contracting HIV.
Currently, there is only one approved preventative medication made by two American companies:Truvada and Descovy. This is PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), which can reduce the risk of being infected by 99% during unprotected sex. On the other hand, it is incumbent to take this tablet daily, which represents a significant risk. It is precisely this reason that has led science to seek another solution.
Cabotegravir clinical trial involved 4,500 people separated into two groups. The first consisted of people receiving an injection of cabotegravir every other month and placebo tablets of PrEP. The second group involved volunteers taking real PrEP pills (from Truvada) and receiving placebo injections. According to the results, 50 volunteers were still infected with HIV. However, there is an inequality since HIV infected 12 people in the cabotegravir group and 38 in the PrEP Truvada group. In other words, the injection is 69% more effective than PrEP! In addition, another large trial for women is currently underway.
In the United States, the PrEP tablet has already become very important in terms of prevention. Indeed, about 200,000 people take it in this country. However, the NIH are very satisfied with the results of cabotegravir, more effective and less restrictive than PrEP. It would therefore be logical that, in the more or less near future, cabotegravir replaces PrEP. Finally, this kind of prevention will remain very popular pending the arrival of a vaccine for 2021 according to some experts.
