Long-acting PrEP could be available as soon as early-2022

America is on the brink of approving a long-acting HIV prevention medication that is easier to take than daily PrEP.

On 23 September, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave cabotegravir priority review status.

This means the drug will undergo a review period of six months as opposed to the usual 10.

Cabotegravir, commercially known as Cabenuva, is a long-acting version of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and is made by ViiV Healthcare.

If approved, the drug would make history by becoming the first of its kind on the market.

Unlike oral PrEP, which is typically taken once a day, patients would receive a monthly injection to prevent the contraction of HIV.

According to Fierce Pharma, late-stage clinical trials of men who have sex with men, cisgender women and transgender women have boosted “optimism” for the drug’s success.

It comes after a year of delays for ViiV Healthcare, which is majority-owned by GlaxoSmithKline, whose manufacturing delays have slowed the process despite the FDA approving cabotegravir in November 2020.

In May 2021, GlaxoSmithKline conducted a study of over 4,500 cis men who have sex with men and trans women who have sex with men.

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