Devex: Cabotegravir also works for women, HIV prevention study reveals
“An investigational injectable drug is found to be effective in preventing HIV among women, according to an interim analysis of a study published Monday, providing new options on HIV prevention for women and girls… Study HPTN 084, led by the HIV Prevention Trials Network, found cabotegravir, a long-acting injectable developed by ViiV Healthcare, was 89% more effective than the standard oral preexposure prophylaxis tenofovir/emtricitabine combination pills widely used for HIV prevention…” (Ravelo, 11/9).

New York Times: Shot to Prevent HIV Works Better Than Daily Pill in Women
“…The finding that the long-acting drug would prevent HIV in six doses taken over a year instead of the 365 required for the prevention pill currently on the market was so convincing the researchers decided to end their clinical trial of the drug early. … Women have had only one approved option for pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, a course of drugs taken to prevent contracting HIV: the daily pill Truvada, made by Gilead Sciences. (A second pill also made by Gilead, called Descovy, was approved in October 2019, but only for men and transgender women.) Many women struggled to take the pill regularly, undercutting its usefulness. Not having to take a daily pill would afford them freedom from having to hide or negotiate their medication use with their sexual partners, experts said…” (Mandavilli, 11/9).