In a notable development for preventing HIV, an interim analysis found that an every-other-month injectable treatment was 89% more effective in preventing infection among women than the Truvada pill, which must be taken daily and is the current standard of care.
The analysis was disclosed after an independent data safety monitoring board recommended early unblinding — or disclosing details — of a clinical trial testing the injectable treatment, which is called cabotegravir and was developed by ViiV Healthcare. The primary goal of the trial was to demonstrate the injectable medication is superior to the pill, which is sold by Gilead Sciences (GILD).
The interim analysis follows results reported earlier this year from a companion study which found that cabotegravir was superior to Truvada in preventing HIV among men who have sex with men and transgender women who have sex with men. Specifically, the ViiV shot protected uninfected people by 66% more compared with Truvada in those populations.
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