The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) announced today results from HPTN 083, a global randomized, controlled, double-blind study that compared the safety and efficacy of long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB LA) to daily oral tenofovir/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) (Truvada) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The study showed that CAB LA lowered HIV incidence among cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men. During a planned review of study data, an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) recommended that the study results be announced as soon as possible. The study sponsor, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, agreed with this recommendation.
“Demonstrating conclusively that long-acting injectable cabotegravir is highly effective almost two years earlier than originally expected is exciting news,” said HPTN 083 protocol chair Raphael J. Landovitz, M.D., M.Sc. “It is inspiring that we may soon have additional HIV prevention options for at-risk individuals who have difficulty with or prefer not to take pills. We are indebted to our study participants and clinical research sites.” Dr. Landovitz is a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and associate director of the UCLA Center for Clinical AIDS Research & Education (CARE).