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Always ‘one atom away’: The long, rocky journey to an HIV prevention breakthrough

To many, it is the next best thing to an HIV vaccine... the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new way to prevent HIV infection: the antiretroviral drug lenacapavir, which provides almost complete protection for 6 months with a single injection in the abdomen. Global health officials think the drug might help quell the tide of new HIV infections, still more than 1 million around the world each year. The approval caps a tortuous, 2-decade-long scientific journey for Gilead Sciences, a pharma company specializing in HIV drugs. Lenacapavir blocks an HIV protein that scientists initially thought was not a suitable drug target, and finding a molecule that was both potent and stable…

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Articles of Interest

A New Shot Prevents HIV—and Breathes New Life Into a Stagnant Biotech

Gilead spent years trying to move beyond HIV. In the end, it might be HIV prevention that finally delivers the breakthrough investors have been waiting for.

A Promising Injectable for HIV Prevention

Lenacapavir is a first-in-class HIV drug, which means that it has a mechanism of action that has not previously been utilized for HIV treatments. It inhibits what we call the HIV capsid, a conical structure that houses both the genetic material of HIV and the proteins that [the virus] uses to make copies of itself. By interfering with the capsid, the drug prevents HIV from replicating itself into host cells.

HIV prevention drug hailed as a 'breakthrough' gets FDA approval

"It's a milestone moment in the history of HIV," says Daniel O'Day, chairman and CEO of Gilead Sciences, which manufactures the drug, which was already approved to treat HIV infection. "In our opinion, it's the best tool yet in helping end the HIV epidemic for everyone, everywhere." Others agree. In 2024, Science hailed lenacapavir as its "Breakthrough of the Year" in 2024.

Six-Month Injectable PrEP: A New Horizon in HIV Prevention

Once a death sentence, HIV/AIDS is now a treatable and preventable disease. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been a game-changer in HIV prevention since the FDA approved emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil (Truvada) in 2012 to prevent HIV transmission.

US approves twice-yearly injection for HIV prevention – what you need to know about lenacapavir

Most HIV prevention drugs are daily pills (known as PrEP), which many people struggle to take regularly for various reasons, including inconvenience, price, stigma and side-effects. Lenacapavir works differently. It’s a new type of drug that attacks HIV’s protective shell, stopping the virus from copying itself at multiple stages. In recent years, two other long-acting medicines have been developed for HIV, but neither of them offers protection for a full six months like lenacapavir.