Pre Exposure Prophylaxis News and Research

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Humanized BLT mice help prevent HIV/AIDS transmission

The more than 2.7 million new HIV infections recorded per year leave little doubt that the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to spread globally. That's why there's the need for safe, inexpensive and effective drugs to successfully block HIV transmission.

19 May 2011

AHF cautions against fast track FDA-approval for expanded use of Gilead’s Truvada

During its quarterly meeting over the weekend, The Board of Directors of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) adopted a resolution cautioning Gilead Sciences against seeking fast track FDA-approval for the expanded use of its best selling AIDS treatment, Truvada, as a possible form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent the transmission of HIV.

4 May 2011

Researchers to wind down HIV prevention trial in women after interim results find drug not offering protection from HIV

Researchers on Monday announced they were calling off a trial to test whether taking an oral HIV drug reduces the risk of HIV infection in women after interim analysis of the study showed women taking the medication were no less likely to become infected with HIV than those who were not taking the medicine, the Associated Press reports.

20 Apr 2011

FHI to stop FEM-PrEP study of HIV prevention among heterosexual women

On the heels of Centers for Disease Control announcement earlier today that an ongoing study of the use of Gilead's top selling AIDS treatment, Truvada, as a possible form of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention in women is being abruptly halted because the, "…trial could not demonstrate efficacy," the AIDS Healthcare Foundation renewed its call on Gilead Sciences to slow its fast track pursuit of its application for FDA approval of use of its AIDS drug as a possible form of HIV prevention.

20 Apr 2011

African AIDS drug trial stopped prematurely

One of the studies in three African countries where women were given an AIDS drug to prevent HIV infection is being stopped because the project is not working, researchers said Monday. These women on the trial were taking a daily dose of the drug Truvada or a look-alike placebo pill and had an equal chance of becoming infected. The ones taking Truvada were expected to have had a much lower infection rate.

19 Apr 2011

Additional research needed for oral PrEP to treat HIV

The first human studies of an oral drug regimen to prevent HIV infection in high-risk individuals yielded a promising near 50% reduction in HIV incidence, but a number of issues require additional research before oral pre-exposure prophylaxis can be implemented on a large scale, according to an article in AIDS Patient Care and STDs, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

15 Mar 2011

AHF unveils new national advertising campaign about AIDS drugs

AIDS Healthcare Foundation today unveiled a new national advertising campaign headlined, "There Is No Magic Pill," an advocacy and awareness campaign to educate and prompt discussion among gay men and others regarding Gilead Sciences and its likely plans to seek Food and Drug Administration approval for use of its blockbuster AIDS drug Truvada as a form a 'pre-exposure prophylaxis' to prevent HIV transmission.

10 Mar 2011

Scientists at retrovirus conference present findings on microbicide gel, Truvada, male circumcision, ART care by nurses

At the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Boston on Monday, researchers "suggested the potential" of a gel containing the antiretroviral drug tenofovir to reduce the risk of anal HIV transmission, TIME's "Healthland" blog reports.

2 Mar 2011

Tenofovir gel more effective than oral tablet for HIV treatment: Study

In the first study to make head-to-head comparisons between tenofovir gel and oral tenofovir - two promising approaches for preventing HIV in women - researchers found that daily use of the vaginal gel achieved a more than 100-times higher concentration of active drug in vaginal tissue than did the oral tablet, while, compared to the gel, the tablet used daily was associated with a 20-times higher active drug concentration in blood.

1 Mar 2011

Tenofovir gel may help reduce risk of HIV from anal sex

A gel developed to protect against HIV during vaginal sex produced a strong antiviral effect when used in the rectum, according to an early-phase study presented today at the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). The results, based on rectal tissue biopsies sampled from HIV-negative men and women who used the product daily for one week, provide the first-ever evidence that tenofovir gel could help reduce the risk of HIV from anal sex, even though the vaginal gel formulation may not be optimal for rectal use.

28 Feb 2011

U.S., South Africa sign PEPFAR partnership agreement

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on Tuesday signed a "partnership agreement that will guide efforts on fighting HIV/AIDS in the African nation," Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports (Wessels, 12/15).

17 Dec 2010

HIV prevention programs worldwide are missing MSMs, survey finds

An online survey of men who have sex with men and their health service providers shows that the majority of respondents said most "gay men worldwide don't have access to HIV testing, counseling or free condoms and lubricant, a new study finds," according to a report by the Global Forum on MSM & HIV, HealthDay/Businessweek reports.

4 Dec 2010

Opinions: Obama's Global Fund pledge; harm reduction in Iran; HIV prevention; African development

There are some encouraging signs in the epic battle against AIDS and HIV infections. But those bright spots dim considerably in the face of the fact that about 7,100 people a day become infected.

30 Nov 2010

To reduce spread of HIV/AIDS, IFRC calls for more focus on IDU programs

Ahead of World AIDS Day, the International Federation of the Red Cross on Friday released a report (.pdf) calling for governments around the world to do more to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among populations of injecting drug users (IDUs), the Associated Press reports (Heilprin, 11/25).

30 Nov 2010

Media outlets continue to follow major HIV/AIDS developments this week

Media outlets continued to track the major developments in HIV/AIDS this week, including: prevention research using an antiretroviral; new UNAIDS estimates of HIV/AIDS around the world; and Pope Benedict XVI's stance on condoms for HIV prevention.

25 Nov 2010

FTC/TDF tablet reduces HIV infection among high-risk individuals: iPrEx study

In a finding with the potential to fundamentally change strategies to slow the global HIV epidemic, a new study called iPrEx shows that individuals at high risk for HIV infection who took a single daily tablet containing two widely used HIV medications, emtricitabine and tenofovir (FTC/TDF), experienced an average of 43.8% fewer HIV infections than those who received a placebo pill. New England Journal of Medicine, is the first evidence that this new HIV prevention method, called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, reduces HIV infection risk in people.

24 Nov 2010

GCM supports iPrEx Study to prevent HIV infection among MSM

The Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM) welcomes today's news from the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Gladstone Institutes of the University of California, San Francisco that daily use of oral emtricitabine (FTC) with tenofovir (TDF) in one tablet shows promise to safely and effectively help to prevent HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM).

24 Nov 2010