The first long-lasting injectable form of PrEP has been approved by the FDA.
Posted on by Randy Slovacek

First Long-Acting Injectable PrEP Approved By FDA

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first long-acting, injectable form of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).

From NBC News:

Apretude, the new drug, is an injectable given every two months as an alternative to HIV prevention pills, like Truvada and Descovy, which have been shown to reduce the risk of HIV by 99 percent when taken daily.

Two FDA trials analyzing the safety and efficacy of the novel drug found that Apretude was more likely to reduce HIV than the daily oral medications — by 69 percent for cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men and by 90 percent for cisgender women.

Apretude’s superior efficacy was apparently driven by the greater ease with which study participants adhered to the every-other-month regimen compared with taking a pill every day.

According to the CDC, only about 25% of the 1.2 million people for whom PrEP is recommended (primarily gay and bisexual men) have been prescribed a version of the medication.

Read more at NBC News.