Scientists are exploring the possibility of having the popular HIV prevention injection Lenacapavir in a formulation dispensed once a year. The drug, first approved in 2025 and whose uptake is reported to be high in Uganda as a twice-yearly Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), according to Senior Researcher Dr Flavia Matovu Kiweewa, could soon be available as a single dose.
Matovu, who was the lead researcher in clinical trials of the drug in Uganda, told URN that advanced studies are currently ongoing in the United States to check whether Lenacapivir can offer the same protection as when delivered in two doses six months apart. In the initial studies involving over two thousand women at high risk of HIV infection, where Uganda ran three trial sites in Mityana, Kalangala and Masaka, results indicated a 99 percent effectiveness in preventing infection.
Matovu says results of the extension study, code-named PURPOSE 365, to determine how much longer the drug can offer protection are expected in 2028. She says, unlike the first studies where the drug was being administered in the thigh, in the new study, it’s being given intramuscularly. The doctor further says it will be a big win for the HIV fight if the drug is finally found to offer safety after a year with adherence problems associated with medicines that require one to use them more frequently.
However, while these advances are being made and the drug was only launched for use in Uganda in April, it is reported to have been given a good reception, there are worries about the sustainability of supplies. Dr Peter Mudiope, the Coordinator of HIV prevention at the Ministry of Health, tells URN that the government resolved to limit the number of people receiving the first dose since they cannot guarantee when new doses of the drug will arrive in the country.
At the launch in April, the country received a donation of 19200 expecting more doses to cater for the second dose due for October for the earliest users. Mudiope says the manufacturer still tells them that the loading dose, a tablet supposed to be swallowed before injection, is currently unavailable, yet the consignment was expected in June. Because of this, they are not certain when for sure people will be injected with their second injection.
Mudiope urges the public to opt for other prevention interventions that are readily available, such as oral PrEP swallowed as a daily tablet and using condoms, saying it’s tricky for the government to invest in something currently assumed to be unsustainable-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
