Truvada to prevent HIV infection
June 1, 2014
The CDC is now recommending Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofir) daily to prevent HIV infection in high-risk adults. In a new guideline titled “Preexposure Prophylaxis for the Prevention of HIV Infection in the United States – 2014),” experts from the CDC define at-risk individuals who are candidates for pre-exposure prophylaxis. This includes men who have sex with men who are not in a monogamous relationship and who engage in unprotected anal intercourse, heterosexually active adults with multiple partners who do not use condoms on a regular basis, any adult in an ongoing relationship with an HIV-positive partner, injection drug users who share needles or who are at risk of sexual acquisition of HIV, and others. The dose of Truvada is one pill a day — the same dose given to treat HIV infection in adults. Patients on prophylaxis should be HIV negative before starting the drug and should be tested every 3 months. The recommendation is based on several studies, including international studies that were done on at-risk populations such as all the risk groups mentioned above, which showed that the drug can reduce the rate of HIV infection by more than 90%. Truvada costs about $15,000 per year. The drug is manufactured by Gilead Sciences — the same company that makes the hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir.
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