Spotlight on HIV prevention studies at AIDS 2018

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

The results of several important HIV prevention studies have been announced at the 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018). 

This includes research confirming that “treatment as prevention” and “on-demand PrEP” are highly effective prevention strategies for men who have sex with men (MSM), and encouraging new long-term data from a major HIV vaccine study.

“This is a new era in HIV prevention, and these studies help point the way forward,” Linda-Gail Bekker, President of the International AIDS Society and International Chair of AIDS 2018, said.

“If we deliver prevention advances where they’re needed most and at scale, we can greatly reduce the number of new infections worldwide.” 

Today’s press conference highlighted five HIV prevention studies, selected from nearly 3 000 scientific abstracts being presented at AIDS 2018.

New evidence that on-demand PrEP is highly effective in MSM

Results from Prevenir, an ongoing observational study, provided further evidence that on-demand PrEP is an effective strategy for preventing HIV acquisition in at-risk MSM.

On-demand PrEP involves taking a pill containing tenofovir plus emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) before and after sex, rather than daily.

Prevenir builds on the results of a previous study, IPERGAY, with data from a cohort of 1 435 at-risk, HIV-negative individuals, nearly all of them MSM, in the Paris region. At enrolment, 44% of participants used PrEP daily and 53% used it on demand.

Jean-Michel Molina of the University of Paris Diderot reported that, so far, the study had found no breakthrough HIV infections among men taking PrEP “on demand” or those taking it daily, supporting continuing use of both dosing regimens in this population.

No study participants discontinued PrEP for drug-related adverse events. – AIDS20018.org