‘HIV prevention drug proves superior’

FRANCISTOWN: The long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB LA) has proven superiority over daily oral tenofovir/emtricitabine (FTC/TDF) (Truvada) for HIV prevention in women, findings of the global HIV prevention study have revealed.

The study which was conducted by Botswana Harvard AIDS institute Partnership (BHP) supported by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) is a global randomised, controlled, double-blind one that compared the safety and efficacy of long-acting injectable CAB LA to daily oral FTC/ TDF for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in cisgender women in Sub Saharan Africa including Botswana.

According to a press statement from HAP, the results of the same study indicates that a PrEP regimen of CAB LA injections taken once every eight weeks was safe and superior to daily oral FTC/ TDF for HIV prevention among cisgender women. The HPTN084 study, which was announced on November 9, 2020, enrolled 3,223 cisgender women in 20 research sites across seven countries being Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The report also states that the average age of study participants was 26 years of which 57% of participants were between 18 and 25-years-old.

Furthermore, 82% of the women enrolled for the study disclosed that they were not living with a partner and 55% participants reported to have being living with two or more partners in the past month, with 34% having a primary partner who is reported to be living with HIV or having an unknown HIV status. The statement also indicated that the trial recorded a total of 38 HIV infections that occurred during followup, with four infections in the CAB LA arm (incidence rate 0.21%) and 34 infections in the FTC/ TDF arm (incidence rate 1.79%). It also stated that the hazard ratio in the CAB LA versus FTC/TDF arm was 0.11 (95% CI 0.04-0.32,) which is approximately nine times more incident HIV infections occurred in the FTC/TDF arm than in the CAB arm. Meanwhile, BHP Chief Executive officer (CEO) Dr Moeketsi Makhema said he was pleased by the positive outcome of the demonstration that CAB LA is safe and highly effective for HIV prevention. Dr Makhema said: “We would like to thank our study participants for contributing to the ever growing body of science. It is very heartwarming that the drug is safe, well tolerated and highly effective in both men and women.

While the CAB LA is superior and will surely enhance adherence, it is pleasing that both CAB LA and Oral FTC/TDF are safe and have high efficacy, which gives the people an alternative to choose which drug they prefer.” Meanwhile, speaking about local participants on the study, BHP communications coordinator, Tapela Morapedi said that amongst the 3, 223 participants, 91 Batswana enrolled in the programme back in November 2017. He said that the recruitment was from 100 km radius of Gaborone.