WEDNESDAY, July 24, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Just two shots a year of an HIV treatment provided complete protection against infections in highly at-risk women, researchers reported Wednesday. In the study of about 5,000 women in South Africa and Uganda, those given injections of lenacapavir were 100% protected, while roughly 2% of those given daily prevention pills were infected by their sex partners. “These data confirm that twice-yearly lenacapavir for HIV prevention is a breakthrough advance with huge public health potential," Sharon Lewin , president of the International AIDS Society, said in a statement .
"If approved and delivered -- rapidly, affordably and equitably -- to those who need or want it, this long-acting tool could help accelerate global progress in HIV prevention. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the thousands of young women in South Africa and Uganda who volunteered to be part of this study." The shots, made by Gilead and sold as Sunlenca , are already approved to treat HIV infection in the United States, Canada, Europe and elsewhere, the Associated Press reported.
The company said it is waiting for the results of testing in men before seeking permission to use the medication to guard against HIV infection. Still, these early results prompted the researchers to stop the company-funded trial early so that all the women could get the shots. The findings were published July 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented simultaneously at an AIDS c.