Health. United States: A preventive vaccine against HIV has just been approved

The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, which causes AIDS, still affects 38 million people worldwide. Currently, a range of prevention tools are available to help those at risk avoid infection.

Among them, Prep, for pre-exposure prophylaxis, tablets to be taken either " continuously " (one tablet per day) or " on demand " (for men only, which consists of taking 2 PrEP tablets between 24 hours and 2 hours before sexual intercourse, then 1 tablet 24 hours after the first dose and 1 tablet 48 hours after the first dose).

This constraint can pose certain problems, particularly in terms of compliance. As a result , "in the United States, only one in three people eligible for PrEP actually follow this preventive treatment," warns the Gilead Science laboratory in a press release dated June 18.

The American laboratory also announced that the Food and Drug Administration, the American drug agency, has just authorized its treatment Yeztugo (lenacapavir) for HIV prevention. This biannual injection has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in clinical trials.

In studies of more than 4,000 participants, 99.9% of those who received the injection remained HIV-negative.

Concretely, Yeztugo works by blocking the HIV capsid, a protein envelope essential to the virus.

" This could be the game-changing PrEP option we've been waiting for, with the potential to improve PrEP uptake and persistence ," said Dr. Carlos del Rio, from the Department of Infectious Diseases at Emory University in Georgia, USA. "A biannual injection could significantly address key barriers, such as adherence and stigma, that people on more frequent dosing regimens may face. "

Towards global access?

While approval is currently limited to the United States, Gilead Sciences is actively preparing for the global rollout of its treatment. Applications for approval have been filed in Europe, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and South Africa.

The company is also committed to facilitating access to this PrEP: in the United States, the treatment will be free for people without insurance.

Please note : The medication is intended for adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kg and at risk of sexually transmitted HIV infection.