This time could be different—but only if Gilead can execute. Over 400,000 people in the U.S. are currently on pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP—a medication that protects against HIV infection.

On June 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first medicine to prevent HIV that only has to be taken twice a year. People who are at high risk for HIV can now take the ...

Global efforts at ending the HIV pandemic by 2030 have stalled. There still are more than 30,000 new infections in the U.S. each year and about 1.3 million worldwide.

Any future candidate will be measured against the potency of the twice-yearly shot, which prevented nearly 100% of new HIV infections in two phase 3 randomized, controlled trials.

June 18 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug that could prevent HIV infections with just two shots every year and possibly eradicate the disease.

HIV protection with just two shots a year: FDA approves Gilead drug Lenacapavir, to be sold as Yeztugo, has potential to bring AIDS pandemic to heel but faces Trump-era obstacles ...

If approved, the shot -- lenacapavir -- would be given twice a year and could be a big step forward in the fight against HIV. Drugmaker Gilead Sciences tested the shot in a study of women and girls.