New hope to stop HIV

Miracle treatment for HIV - 12th August 2024

A new injection for HIV, which uses the drug lenacapavir, has been called "a miracle" by experts. In a medical trial in South Africa and Uganda, women from 16 to 25 were injected with the drug every six months.

The research found that this treatment provided 100 percent protection against HIV infection. Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, who led the trial, was very emotional when she saw the results. "I literally burst into tears," she said.

Since the first deaths of the HIV pandemic almost 50 years ago, progress has been made in treating the condition. However, no cure or vaccine has been developed. Antiretroviral drugs can reduce the virus to undetectable levels, and pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs like lenacapavir can stop someone becoming infected.

Treatments are less accessible in sub-Saharan Africa, where one in 25 adults is HIV positive. This accounts for two-thirds of HIV cases worldwide.

In the recent trial, some women were asked to take lenacapavir as a daily pill. However, many still became HIV positive because they did not take the pill every day. This proved the benefits of injections as the delivery mechanism.

Women on the trial were allowed to become pregnant, which is rare for a medical study. Mother-to-child HIV transmission is a major issue which this could prevent. 193 women became pregnant while they were receiving lencapavir treatments. Tests indicate that their babies are developing normally.

The treatment now requires approval from government health authorities. Lenacapavir injections need to be available quickly and cheaply to reach millions of people.