A new injectable drug is being studied by experts as an alternative medication for HIV prevention. Not much drug has yet been developed to fight the said infection. Fortunately, the Truvada pill recently approved as the only available drug to protect people from HIV may already have an alternative once the new medication is officially announced.
Trials have already begun for the potency of the new drug Cabotegravir. It is an injectable type of medication previously formulated by scientists believed to prevent HIV infections. The drug is already currently used to control levels of the virus among infected patients, but the new study aims to find out if Cabotegravir will also effect as a preventive measure to the HIV infection. Once proven effective, the drug reportedly will be introduced as an alternative to the Truvada pill.
As reported by the Buzzfeed News, the research will involve 4,500 men who have been sexually in contact with both men and transgender women from 45 areas in eight countries. Half of the participants will accept the Cabotegravir injection along with a daily placebo pill for four years for a two-month interval. This, according to the researching team, will allow the experts to identify if the drug will give the same HIV prevention rate as Truvada. The results of the test will then be released in 2021.
As of late, Truvada is the sole preventive means for HIV infection. Although the drug was found out to be highly effective, some patients still struggle to maintain the daily routine of taking in Truvada. This follows the study conducted in 2015 which involved black males as their race were found out to have the highest rate of HIV infection according to The Center For Disease Control and Prevention.
Truvada was found out to help reduce the risks of HIV and experts are hoping that the Cabotegravir injectable drug will also work the same way. According to Tech Times, these drugs will work to hinder the virus from reproducing inside the body, hence reducing the risks of larger viral load which might in turn cause new infections.
Researchers say that they do not expect the Cabotegravir to be more effective than the Travuda pill as it was originally formulated as a drug for already infected patients. However, getting an alternative medication for HIV prevention are deemed by experts beneficial most especially for those who tend to forget to take in their pills daily.
