The first injectable human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention treatment called Apretude has been approved for use in at-risk individuals, both adults and children, who weigh at least 77 pounds for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to lower the risk of the sexually transmitted virus, the Food and Drug Administration announced recently.
As specified in a FOX 7 report, the United States FDA took a major step to combat the HIV epidemic with the approval of the first injectable prevention drug against HIV.
Apretude provides a choice to prevent HIV that does not involve daily pill intake. The FDA explained the drug is given initially to individuals as two inoculations are allotted one month apart and every two months following that.
Patients can start with their treatment using Apretude or take Vocabria, another drug for the virus described in the European Medicines Agency site, for four weeks to examine how well their body can handle the formerly mentioned drug.
Safety and Efficacy Tested
The FDA carried out tests to identify the safety and efficacy of Apretude, comparing it to Truvada, a once-a-day oral drug for HIV PrEP.
The first trial included HIV uninfected males and transgender women engaging in sexual intercourse with men and having high-risk behavior for infection of HIV.
The second trial involves uninfected cisgender women at risk of getting infected with HIV. Cisgenders are people whose gender identity matches the gender when they were born.
Common Side Effects of Taking Apretude
Adverse effects common in individuals who are taking Apretude during the trials were reactions in the injected area, fatigue, back pain, fever, and a rash.
According to the FDA, Apretude has a "boxed warning" for people not to use the product unless a negative test for HIV has been confirmed.
Meaning, only those who are confirmed negative from HIV will be prescribed immediately before beginning to use the drug and before every inoculation to lessen the risk of resistance to the drug.
In April this year, a potential vaccine against HIV, using the mRNA vaccine technology used for the COVID-19 vaccine, was employed in a clinical trial that took place in Washington DC and Seattle, with 48 healthy adult individuals participating in the trial.
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and Scripps Research researchers said the vaccine was successful in the production of rare immune cells that stimulate antibodies to prevent mutation of the virus. As a result, the response was seen in about 97 percent of participants who were inoculated with the vaccine.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes HIV as a virus that attacks the body's immune system.
It can be transferred through unprotected sexual intercourse or other ways, including sharing injection materials like syringes. The virus can be detected through an HIV test.
Some individuals experience flu-like symptoms within two to four weeks from infection. It is called HIV infection and the symptoms may last for a few days up to several weeks.
Report about FDA's approval of the Apretude injectable is shown on Newzroom Afrika's YouTube video below:
Read also: Mother-to-Infant HIV Transmission: Researchers Find Hints to Eliminate the Virus in Babies
Check out for more news and information on HIV in Science Times.
