ViiV Healthcare announces US FDA approval of Apretude (cabotegravir extended-release injectable suspension), the first and only long-acting injectable option for HIV prevention
2021-12-22
ViiV Healthcare announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Apretude, the first and only long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) option to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1. The long-acting injectable was approved for use in adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kg who are at risk of sexually acquiring HIV and who have a negative HIV-1 test prior to initiation. The medicine was studied in men who have sex with men, as well as women and transgender women who have sex with men, who were at increased risk of sexually acquiring HIV.
Cabotegravir long-acting for PrEP is provided as an injection given as few as six times per year and is initiated with a single 600 mg (3-ml) injection given one month apart for two consecutive months. After the second initiation injection, the recommended continuation injection dose is a single 600 mg (3-ml) injection given every two months. Vocabria (cabotegravir oral tablets) may be administered for approximately one month before initiating the first injection to assess the tolerability of the medicine.
