Cabenuva

It’s what many people with H.I.V. have long awaited: monthly injections to keep the virus in check, instead of the three drugs daily they now must take - Apoorva Mandavilli

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Can We Stamp Out HIV? New Monthly Injections Could Offer Hope

It’s what many people with H.I.V. have long awaited: monthly injections to keep the virus in check, instead of the three drugs daily they now must take. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a combination of two monthly shots for treatment of H.I.V. in patients in stable condition. The treatment is called Cabenuva. One of the two shots also has been shown to be as effective at preventing H.I.V. infection as a pill taken daily, a treatment strategy called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. But the approval on Thursday covers only Cabenuva’s use as a treatment.

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F.D.A. Approves Monthly Shots to Treat H.I.V.

A combination of two injectable drugs will provide an alternative to daily pills for people with H.I.V. It’s what many people with H.I.V. have long awaited: monthly injections to keep the virus in check, instead of the three drugs daily they now must take.

Long-Lasting Anti-AIDS Meds Eliminate 'Psychic Toll' Of Daily Pill

The injectable medicines can be used both to treat and prevent HIV infection. Several clinical trials of the treatments have wrapped up over the last year and the new long-lasting anti-AIDS drugs may soon become commercially available in many parts of the world. Earlier this year Canada became the first country to approve Cabenuva for HIV treatment with just a single injection every four weeks.

People with HIV offered hope of self-injected drug at home

Sold as Cabenuva, it has been available on the NHS as a combination treatment with another drug since April last year, and is now injected into the patient’s buttocks via syringes in hospital every two months. This is an alternative to taking a daily tablet to stop the HIV virus attacking the immune system, leading to Aids.

Protecting Women Against HIV Just Got 9 Times Easier

"What our results show is that cabotegravir was indeed superior to Truvada in preventing HIV infection," she says. Out of the 3,223 women in the study, half were getting Truvada and half were getting the injection. Three years after enrolling in the program, there were 34 HIV infections among women on Truvada versus just 4 in the group getting cabotegravir. This dramatic difference is striking in part because Truvada is already considered in the AIDS community to be a useful prevention tool.

What do we know about injectable HIV medication?

The first complete HIV treatment provided by long-acting injections is a combination of two medications. Cabotegravir belongs to the same class of medication – integrase inhibitors – as the widely used HIV medication dolutegravir. The second medication is called rilpivirine and is already used for HIV treatment in tablet form. It is from a class of drugs known as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs).