Experts explain injectable HIV prevention drug
A health worker draws blood from a man to test for HIV in Kampala on September 9. Uganda is set to start using an injectable HIV/Aids drug. PHOTOS | ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- Dr Daniel Byamukama, the head of the HIV prevention division at the Uganda AIDS Commission, said the new drug is for the prevention of HIV infection for those who are HIV-negative but are at risk of contracting the virus through sexual intercourse.
The government said it is banking on the long-acting injectable drug for HIV prevention, Cabotegravir (CAB), as one of the essential tools to reduce over 50,000 new infections registered annually.
The drug will be administered to people who are HIV-negative to avoid infection.
Dr Daniel Byamukama, the head of the HIV prevention division at the Uganda AIDS Commission, said the new drug is for the prevention of HIV infection for those who are HIV-negative but are at risk of contracting the virus through sexual intercourse.
The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it is also for people who inject drugs. This means it is not for treatment, and so does not replace the Anti-retroviral drugs for those living with the virus.
Dr Byamukama on Monday said the HIV-negative person would take one injection every two months to prevent infection. “We are targeting all sexually active people who consider themselves at high risk [of contracting HIV]. If you are married to a sex worker or your husband has multiple sexual partners, you are married to a person who is HIV positive, and or you are a sex worker. Research has been and it has been cleared by the WHO (World Health Organisation), it is safe and effective,” he said.
CDC on the other hand, said: “CAB injections may be a good option for a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people who have problems taking oral PrEP as prescribed. [Those who] prefer getting a shot every two months instead of taking oral PrEP.”
The US agency also said CAB is for those who have “serious kidney disease that prevents the use of oral PrEP medications. CAB injections should not be prescribed to people who have HIV or to those with a history of hypersensitivity reaction to CAB.”
About the drug
Long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA), a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention, is a medicine patented and produced by ViiV Healthcare, an offshoot of pharmaceutical corporations Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Shionogi, which is based in the United Kingdom.
The WHO, in 2020, said the studies conducted in seven African countries, Uganda included, show that “CAB-LA is significantly more effective in preventing HIV acquisition than oral PrEP in an intention-to-treat analysis from this trial. While both methods were highly effective at preventing HIV acquisition, long-acting cabotegravir was 89 percent more effective than Tenofovir/emtriciabine.”
