This Trial Was 96% Effective in HIV Prevention Over PrEP Pills

(HealthDay News) — People whose partners have HIV must remember to take antiretroviral pills every single day or risk infection themselves. But researchers have come up with a way to avoid that daily hassle – an injectable drug that patients would only have to receive twice a year. What’s more, the new drug works even better than the currently available pills, clinical trial results show. A twice-yearly injection of Sunlenca (lenacapavir) reduces the risk of HIV infection by 96 percent, which is significantly more effective than oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) using pills like Truvada, researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine. “Seeing these high levels of efficacy – at almost 100 percent — in an injectable that people only have to take every six months is incredible,” lead researcher Dr. Colleen Kelley, a professor of medicine at Emory University, said in a news release. “This is a considerable and profound advancement in medicine, especially for people whose circumstances don’t allow them to take a daily oral medication, and for those among populations disproportionately impacted by HIV,”  she added. In the new clinical trial, 99 percent of the patients receiving Sunlenca did not become infected with HIV, results show....