New Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Data show Tenofovir and Truvada Effective in Men and Women
Today, researchers from two different studies of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) announced evidence that both oral tenofovir (TDF, marketed as Viread) and oral tenofovir plus emtricitabine (TDF/FTC, marketed as Truvada) can reduce the risk of HIV transmission.
Today, researchers from two different studies of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) announced evidence that both oral tenofovir (TDF, marketed as Viread) and oral tenofovir plus emtricitabine (TDF/FTC, marketed as Truvada) can reduce the risk of HIV transmission.
The two trials, Partners PrEP (funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with study drug donated by Gilead Sciences—and sponsored and led by the University of Washington in collaboration with sites in Kenya and Uganda) and TDF2 (sponsored and conducted by the CDC in partnership with the Botswana Ministry of Health with additional funding from the US National Institutes of Health and study drug donated by Gilead Science) looked at the use of either TDF/FTC or TDF in African men and women whose reported primary HIV risk was through unprotected penile-vaginal sex. Both trials found that PrEP using either daily oral TDF/FTC or TDF was effective at reducing HIV risk in both men and women. Both trials also found that the drugs were safe. Although there were no severe adverse events, there were higher rates of dizziness and nausea among participants in the active arm of TDF2. Both trials reported high rates of adherence based on self-report. TDF2 reported one case of drug resistance in a participant randomized to the active arm who had acute, undiagnosed HIV at the time of enrollment. This underscores the need for confirmed HIV-negative diagnosis if PrEP is to be used safely.
These landmark findings extend the benefit previously observed in gay men and transgender women in the iPrEx trial and have the potential to fundamentally change approaches to HIV prevention.
