Lenacapavir is a capsid inhibitor that is injected subcutaneously every six months. In the Lenacapavir group of 2,134 women, there were no cases of HIV infection.
On June 21, Caijing reported (Editor Zhao Hao) that on Thursday (June 20) local time, Gilead Sciences, a US biopharmaceutical company, announced on its official website that its research and development of "Lenacapavir" showed 100% effectiveness in preventing HIV.
Source: Gilead Sciences Official Website
The most recent published results are from a Phase III double-blind randomized controlled trial called "PURPOSE 1," which aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Lenacapavir and Descovy in more than 5,300 16-25-year-old women in 25 sites in South Africa and three sites in Uganda.
More than 5,300 participants were randomly assigned to receive Lenacapavir, Descovy, or Truvada for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in a 2:2:1 ratio.
Descovy and Truvada are daily oral medications, while Lenacapavir is a capsid inhibitor that is administered subcutaneously every six months.
The results showed zero cases of HIV infection among the 2,134 women in the Lenacapavir group.
Source: Gilead Sciences Press Release
In the Truvada group of 1,068 women, there were 16 cases of HIV infection, with an incidence rate of 1.69 cases per 100 people; in the Descovy group of 2,136 women, there were 39 cases of HIV infection, with an incidence rate of 2.02 cases per 100 people.
"Lenacapavir, which requires only two injections a year, has zero incidence and 100% efficacy, demonstrating its potential as an important new tool for preventing HIV infection," said Merdad Parsey, Chief Medical Officer of Gilead worldwide.
"We look forward to further progress in the ongoing PURPOSE clinical program, continuing to move towards our goals and helping people around the world end the HIV epidemic," Parsey said.
"If approved, Lenacapavir will offer an important new option for HIV prevention, enabling many people around the world, especially women, to benefit from PrEP drugs," said Linda-Gail Bekker, director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, in a press release.
Bekker, former president of the International AIDS Society, noted that traditional methods of HIV prevention are also very effective, but taking medicine every day may put some people at risk of discrimination.
Gilead's new HIV drug, which can be given once every six months, made its debut in China, accelerating product accessibility at the Import Expo.
Influenced by this news, Gilead Sciences' stock traded on the US stock market sharply rose, currently up 9.4% at $69 per share, the highest level since early April.
It is also worth mentioning that the well-known drug "Remdesivir" during the COVID-19 pandemic also came from Gilead Sciences.