Twice-yearly shots used to treat AIDS were 100% effective in preventing new infections in women, according to study results published Wednesday.
There were no infections in the young women and girls that got the shots in a study of about 5,000 in South Africa and Uganda, researchers reported. In a group given daily prevention pills, roughly 2% ended up catching HIV from infected sex partners. “To see this level of protection is stunning,” said Salim Abdool Karim of the injections. He is director of an
conference in Munich. Gilead paid for the study and some of the researchers are company employees. Because of the surprisingly encouraging results, the study was stopped early and all participants were offered the shots, also known as lenacapavir. While there are other ways to prevent HIV infection, like condoms or daily pills, consistent use has been a problem in Africa.
agency. She said her organization urged Gilead to share Sunlenca’s patent with a U.N.-backed program that negotiates broad contracts allowing generic drugmakers to make cheap versions of drugs for poorer countries worldwide. As an HIV treatment, the drug costs more than $40,000 a year in the U.S., although what individuals pay varies. Dr.
drugs that could turn HIV infection from a death sentence into a chronic illness. Back then, South African President Nelson Mandela suspended patents to allow wider access to the drugs; the price later dropped from about $10,000 per patient per year to about $50. Olwethu Kemele, a health worker at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, predicted the shots could boost the number of people coming in for HIV prevention and slow the virus’ spread.
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Experts say a twice-yearly injection that offers 100% protection against HIV is 'stunning'A study shows that a twice-yearly shot was 100% effective in preventing new HIV infections in women in Africa.
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Experts say a twice-yearly injection that offers 100% protection against HIV is 'stunning'A study shows that a twice-yearly shot was 100% effective in preventing new HIV infections in women in Africa.
Read more »
Experts say a twice-yearly injection that offers 100% protection against HIV is 'stunning'A study shows that a twice-yearly shot was 100% effective in preventing new HIV infections in women in Africa.
Read more »
Experts say a twice-yearly injection that offers 100% protection against HIV is 'stunning'A study shows that a twice-yearly shot was 100% effective in preventing new HIV infections in women in Africa. The shot is already used in the U.S. and elsewhere as a treatment for the virus that causes AIDS, and drugmaker Gilead is testing it for prevention.
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