This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
New collaborative study to assess efficacy of injectable HIV medication
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The HIV Prevention Trials Network, which includes the McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, has launched a study that will examine whether cabotegravir, a new injectable drug, can work as well as Truvada, an existing oral medication, to protect against HIV, according to a recent press release.
“We are very excited to bring access to a prevention trial with a promising long-acting drug for Houstonians at risk of HIV infection,” Roberto C. Arduino, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and principal investigator of the study, said in the release. “This novel prevention strategy aims to improve adherence, which is directly linked to efficacy.”
The long-lasting nature of cabotegravir, an integrase inhibitor that blocks an HIV enzyme and prevents the virus from multiplying, may make adherence easier .
Arduino and colleagues, in collaboration with researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, will enroll 4,500 participants from the U.S., Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Thailand, Vietnam and South Africa in the clinical trial through an outpatient clinic in Houston. They will randomly assign people who are at risk of becoming infected with HIV to either the injectable drug or oral drug group. Depending on when a person enrolls in the trial, participation could range from 1.5 to 4.5 years.
Funding for this study is provided by The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and ViiV Healthcare.
Disclosures: Arduino reports no relevant financial disclosures.
*Photo credit: UTHealth