The US FDA has approved Lenacapavir injection for the prevention of HIV. Taking this injection twice in 6 months will prevent the HIV virus. Work on this injection was going on for 20 years. Now it has been approved.

HIV is a dangerous virus. Till date, no medicine or vaccine has been made to completely eradicate it, although medical science has achieved a great success in preventing this virus. The US FDA has approved lenacapavir (ztugo) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (protecting against a disease before coming in contact with it). This is the first such injection that can prevent HIV infection by taking just two doses every six months. Work was going on on this injection for 20 years. Now it has been approved. However, this injection is not a cure for HIV. Just getting it can prevent it. This injection will prevent the infection from spreading to those people who have not yet come in contact with any infected person.

According to experts, Lenacapavir (Yeztugo) = PrEP is a drug that prevents the HIV virus from entering the body, but it is not a vaccine. This is because the Lenacapavir injection prevents exposure to the virus, but if the virus has entered the body, it cannot fight it. America's Bio Pharma has developed Lenacapavir as a preventive drug.

Research was done on this injection. The results of three major trials showed that after taking the injection, there was zero (100%) infection in women, and only 0.1% infection in men. This research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Lenacapavir is a capsid inhibitor. It weakens the outer layer (capsid) of the HIV virus and stops the process of the virus spreading in the body.

2 doses of injection in 6 months

Two doses of the injection are given under the skin, due to which it is released slowly and remains active in the body for 6 months. Another dose has to be administered after six months. To avail the benefits of this injection, it is necessary to get an HIV negative test done every six months, only then the next dose is given. All the three trials conducted on this injection have proved successful. Only after this the FDA has approved it.

Only HIV negative people will get the injection

This injection will be given to HIV negative people who are at risk of getting HIV. That is, this injection is for the prevention of the virus. The weight of the people taking the injection should be more than 35 kg and they should not have any symptoms of HIV. If a positive person takes it, then there can be many damages in the body and there can also be a risk of drug resistance.

Need to get it at affordable rates

Public health expert Dr Jugal Kishore says that lenacapavir is a milestone in science and public health. Its high effectiveness can revolutionize the way HIV is prevented. But it is important that it is available to people at an affordable rate. Only then will its true benefits be available. It is also important that people do not think that with the arrival of this injection there is no need to be cautious about HIV.