The new recommendations for preexposure prophylaxis, commonly known as PrEP, are consistent with what was issued by the USPSTF in 2019, with the only difference being the consideration of the injectable form of the drug cabotegravir — known commercially as Apretude.
The USPSTF gave the recommendation a grade A, meaning the group found with “high certainty that the net benefit is substantial” in prescribing Apretude.
The independent expert panel is formed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Apretude in December 2021 for reducing the risk of sexually acquired HIV in adults and adolescents weighing at least 77 pounds. It is believed to be just as or possibly more effective as oral forms of PrEP like Descovy and Truvada.
In July 2022, the World Health Organization issued guidance recommending the PrEP injection as part of countries’ approaches to HIV prevention, finding that the drug is “safe and highly effective.” The organization said it hoped its recommendation would accelerate the utilization of the injection in other countries.
Not at all like the more established sorts of PrEP for HIV, which are oral tablets taken day to day, Apretude includes an infusion that is directed once every other month following an underlying timetable of two infusions given one month separated.
It is the main long-acting type of HIV PrEP to be made accessible in the U.S.
One study found Apretude was more effective than Truvada in keeping people HIV-negative, which the FDA cited in its 2021 approval. Apretude is indicated for all people who are at risk of contracting HIV through sex regardless of biological sex, unlike Descovy, which is not for people assigned female at birth.
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