Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Authorizes First HIV Preventive Given By A Shot
The Washington Post: FDA Approves First Injectable HIV Preventive, Providing Alternative To Daily Pill
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the world’s first injectable medication to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted HIV. Previously, the only PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) medications that have been approved were pills required to be taken daily, such as Truvada and Descovy. For some people, adherence to daily medication can prove challenging or “not a realistic option,” said Debra Birnkrant, director of the FDA’s antivirals division. (Pietsch, 12/21)
CNN: FDA Approves First Injectable PrEP Medication To Lower HIV Risk
Two double-blind clinical trials comparing Apretude with Truvada found significantly lower HIV risk in people getting the injection, the FDA noted. The risk was 69% lower in the first trial, of HIV-negative cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men, and 90% lower in the second trial, which involved cisgender women. Research also found that Apretude was more likely than Truvada to cause side effects such as injection site reactions, headache, fatigue, back pain, myalgia and rash. (Dillinger, 12/20)
In other news about HIV/AIDS —
Medical XPress: Stool Samples From The 1980s Hold Clues To Fighting HIV Today
What do all the microbes living rent-free in your gut have to do with disease risk? Perhaps a lot. A study of decades-old stool and blood samples from the early AIDS epidemic suggests that men who had high levels of inflammation-causing bacteria in their intestinal tract may have had a greater risk for contracting HIV. At issue is the specific makeup of the bacteria, fungi, algae and other single-celled organisms that colonize everyone's digestive tract. Collectively, they're known as the gut microbiome. (Mozes, 12/19)
WCPO: One Year Into HIV Study, He's Certain 'They Will Cure This'
One of the things that kept Carl Fox going after he contracted HIV in 1985 was a promise that he made to himself. Fox vowed to survive, he said, so he could testify to what people with HIV and AIDS encountered back then. ... This month marks the halfway point of Fox’s participation in a federally funded TRAILBLAZER study that’s altering the white blood cells of patients to try to control the devastation of HIV without daily medication. He is allowing WCPO to chronicle the experience. (May, 12/21)
The Guardian: ‘A Wave Of Joy’: Babies Born From World’s First HIV Positive Sperm Bank
Olivia and Amy are sitting outside in the shade, trying to escape from New Zealand’s early-summer humidity. Amy, 10 months old, burbles happily in the background as her mother talks. She is healthy, happy, and oblivious to her status as a world first: one of a handful of babies born from the first sperm bank for HIV-positive donors. The bank, Sperm Positive, launched in New Zealand in 2019, in an effort to reduce the stigma faced by HIV-positive people – and raise awareness that with treatment, the virus was undetectable and untransmissible. It grabbed international headlines when it was launched, but has been more than a publicity gimmick. Two years on, the bank is bearing fruit. (McClure, 12/17)
