There is a big relief news for people living with HIV and AIDS around the world. Scientists have claimed a successful trial of an injection that cures HIV infection. Two doses of this injection will have to be taken in a year. After this, AIDS will also be cured.
Let us tell you that a clinical trial conducted on a large scale in South Africa and Uganda has shown that injection of a new preventive drug twice a year gives complete protection to young women from HIV infection.
The trial tried to find out whether the injection of ‘Lencapavir’ every six months would provide better protection against HIV infection than two other medicines (pills taken daily). All three medicines are ‘pre-exposure prophylaxis’ (prophylactic) medicines. The lead investigator of the South African part of the study, physician-scientist Linda-Gail Baker, explained why this success is so critical and what to expect next. The efficacy of lenacapavir and two other drugs was tested in the ‘Objective 1’ trial with 5,000 participants at three sites in Uganda and 25 sites in South Africa.
Trial Successful On 5000 People
Lenacapavir (Len LA) injection was successfully trialled on 5000 people. Lenacapavir penetrates the HIV capsid. The capsid is a protein shell that protects HIV’s genetic material and the enzymes needed for replication. It is injected into the skin once every six months. In East and Southern Africa, young women suffer the most from HIV infections.
Due to several social and structural reasons, they also find it challenging to maintain a daily pre-exposure prophylaxis regime. None of the 2,134 women who received lenacapavir during the randomised phase of the trial became infected with HIV. This injection proved to have 100 per cent efficacy. What is the significance of these trials? This success raises great hopes that we have a proven, highly effective prevention tool to protect people from HIV.
Hope To Eliminate HIV
The success of this trial has now raised hopes of eliminating HIV. Last year, there were 1.3 million new HIV infections globally. However, this is less than the 2 million infections seen in 2010. It is clear that at this rate, we will not be able to meet the target of reducing new HIV cases to less than 500,000 globally (set by 2025) or potentially even the goal of ending AIDS by 2030 that UNAIDS has set for 2025. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs are not the only prevention tool.
PrEP should be provided alongside self-testing for HIV, access to condoms, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and access to contraceptive drugs for women of childbearing age. But despite these options, we have not reached the point where we can prevent new infections, especially among young people.
2 Injections A Year Will Not Prevent HIV
For young people, the decision to take a pill every day, use a condom or take a pill at the time of intercourse can be very challenging. HIV scientists and activists hope that young people will realise that making this ‘prevention decision’ twice a year can reduce difficulties. For a young woman, just one injection twice a year is the option that can keep her away from HIV.
