EU Approves Groundbreaking HIV Preventive Treatment: A Major Health Milestone!

MEXICO CITY (apro).- On Wednesday, June 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new preventive treatment for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

The biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences announced that their drug Lenacapavir, marketed as Yeztugo, can prevent the disease with nearly 100% effectiveness.

“Today marks a historic day in the decades-long battle against HIV. Yeztugo is among the most significant scientific breakthroughs of our era, offering a very real chance to help eradicate the HIV epidemic,” said Daniel O’Day, CEO and Chairman of Gilead Sciences.

While there are already medications available to treat the disease, they typically require daily pill intake. However, this new drug requires only a biannual injection.

In 2021, the FDA had approved another injectable medication called Apretude from ViiV Healthcare for treating the condition.

How was the new drug tested?

Gilead Sciences conducted a couple of clinical trials to test Yeztugo.

In the first clinical trial, 2,134 cisgender women from Sub-Saharan Africa participated, receiving the new medication through subcutaneous injections twice a year, achieving a 100% reduction in HIV infections.

In the second trial, a comparison was made between the effectiveness of Yeztugo and the pill Truvada – a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication – involving 2,179 cisgender men and individuals of diverse genders, where only two infections occurred, resulting in 99.9% effectiveness.

How does Yeztugo work?

The medication can reduce the risk of HIV transmission in “adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kilograms (about 77 pounds).”

It is administered subcutaneously, with a dosage of 463.5 mg/1.5 ml per injection.

Before starting treatment, an HIV-1 negative test is required.

The cost of the new preventive drug has not yet been confirmed, but analysts estimate it could be around $25,000 per year. Consequently, activists have called for reducing the price to $25 per person annually.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 31,800 new HIV infections in the United States in 2022, while globally there are currently about 1.3 million cases.