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Lenacapavir - a strong weapon to accelerate HIV prevention
1Instituto de Saúde Ambiental; Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa. Lisbon, Portugal.
AIDS Reviews
|October 28, 2025
Summary
The 2025 HIV prevention target is unlikely to be met. Long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options like injectable cabotegravir and lenacapavir offer superior protection against HIV compared to daily oral PrEP.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Pharmacology
Background:
- The 2025 HIV prevention target of 95% coverage is currently unattainable globally.
- Daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) using tenofovir-based drugs, recommended in 2015, faces limited access and uptake.
- Barriers to oral PrEP include adherence challenges, stigma, and insufficient awareness of available services.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the potential of long-acting HIV prevention options.
- To compare the efficacy of novel long-acting PrEP formulations with daily oral PrEP.
- To address limitations in current HIV prevention strategies.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing data on oral and long-acting PrEP efficacy.
- Analysis of barriers to PrEP uptake and persistence.
- Comparison of protection levels offered by different PrEP modalities.
Main Results:
- Long-acting injectable cabotegravir and lenacapavir demonstrate very high levels of protection against HIV.
- These novel options show promise in overcoming adherence and access barriers associated with daily oral PrEP.
- Current prevention targets are unlikely to be met without wider access to effective PrEP.
Conclusions:
- Long-acting PrEP formulations represent a significant advancement in HIV prevention.
- These new products have the potential to accelerate progress towards global HIV prevention goals.
- Addressing stigma and improving access are crucial for maximizing the impact of PrEP interventions.
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