Injectable PrEP could be a reality as soon as the beginning of next year, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s updated guidelines on the HIV prevention treatment.
The CDC released the 2021 update of its PrEP clinical practice guidelines on Tuesday afternoon. The 108-page document includes several key updates, including a section regarding the prescription of cabotegravir (CAB), a form of PrEP that would be injected bimonthly, pending approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Anticipating that the FDA will approve CAB “within 2-3 months after the publication of this guideline,” the CDC will recommend CAB for all sexually active adults who report engaging in sexual behaviors that put them at “substantial ongoing risk of HIV exposure and acquisition.”
Additionally, the CDC is now recommending that providers inform all sexually active adults and adolescents about PrEP, regardless of whether or not patients report “specific HIV risk behaviors.”
“We hope these efforts will continue to increase awareness of PrEP and help overcome embarrassment or anticipated stigmatizing reactions that may prevent some people from sharing HIV risk behaviors with their healthcare provider,” a press release reads.
Lastly, the CDC is now officially recommending F/TAF, also known as Descovy, as an FDA-approved PrEP option for sexually active cis men and trans women. The FDA approved Descovy in late 2019, when the CDC started developing updated guidelines for PrEP. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the development of these guidelines, hence the delay in Descovy’s CDC approval. Cis women and trans men, however, are still not approved for Descovy as there have been no clinical trials conducted for its efficacy in those populations.
The approval of CAB could be a game-changer when it comes to fighting the HIV epidemic in the United States. Currently, both Descovy and its counterpart, Truvada, must be taken daily in pill form for maximum efficiency — although some evidence suggests that intermittent, or “event-based” PrEP, may be highly effective in preventing HIV transmission as well. If the process of getting on PrEP is simplified to a shot every other month, and medical providers start recommending PrEP to all sexually active adults, not just “high-risk” ones, much more of the general population might be inclined to take it.
