One injection every two months is all people with HIV and those on PrEP may need in the not-to-distant future. The injectable drug Cabotegravir appears to be 69 percent more effective than Truvada, the daily pill most commonly prescribed.
According to Science magazine, 4,500 people participated in the study. Divided into four equal groups, each participant was randomly assigned to receive a Cabotegravir injection, a placebo injection, Truvada or a Truvada placebo. The Truvada group received 38 new infections, while the Cabotegravir group only 12.
The injection isn’t a vaccine to prevent the virus from attacking the immune system. However, for people on PrEP, it would work as a vaccine, but would need to be taken once every two months. For those on a daily pill, one injection every two months would replace the daily pill.
The study ended early because of the coronavirus pandemic and has not been published yet. Researchers warn that the statistics don’t show that Cabotegravir is better than Truvada, but appears to be at least as effective. Also, it provides an alternative to people who have trouble taking a daily medication.
— David Taffet
I’m calling this out as bogus. How can “Cabotegravir appears to be 69 percent more effective than Truvada” when Truvada is billed as 99% effective? Either the original Truvada stats are bogus, or this one is.
Truvada is 99% effective if taken every single day. Some people didn’t take it every single day in the study.
There were also very few people who got HIV in the study (50 out of 4500 high risk people over several years is pretty low), so the 69% number is from a small sample. That’s why the study can’t conclude that cabotegravir is better, but that it’s just as good.
Just because you don’t understand a concept at first doesn’t make it “bogus.”
Well said. I have an inkling that the 38 (Truvada) and 12 (Cabotegravir) didn’t fully adhere to the required dosages. A 50 out 4500 incidence rate says a lot. This is encouraging news!