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Researchers halted a study after finding that an experimental vaccine given every two months worked better than daily pills to prevent women from contracting HIV from a sexual partner.
This is good news for HIV prevention efforts, especially in Africa, where the study was conducted and where women have little ability to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections.
So far, the results suggest that the drug cabotegravir was 89% more effective at preventing HIV infection than the Truvada pills, although both reduce the risk.
The results are similar to those announced a few months ago by a similar study testing injections against daily pills in gay men.
Cabotegravir is developed by ViiV Healthcare, owned by GlaxoSmithKline, in collaboration with Pfizer Inc. and Shionogi Limited. The study was sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the ViiV. The drugs were supplied by ViiV and Truvada’s manufacturer Gilead Sciences.
“This is a very important step forward,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert at the NIH. “I don’t think we can stress the importance of this study enough.”
It promises to help prevent HIV infections among young women, “the ones who need it most,” she added.
The study involved more than 3,200 participants in seven African countries who were randomly selected to receive bi-weekly injections or daily Truvada pills. Independent observers advised suspending the study after finding that only 0.21% of women who were injected contracted the virus that causes AIDS, compared with 1.79% of women who took the pills.
There were more side effects with the injections than with the pills, mostly nausea.
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