A long-acting treatment for HIV, first approved in the US in 2022, has returned to the market with a new indication – this time as a prophylactic that only needs to the administered twice per year. The drug, lenacapavir, is a synthetic compound that interferes with the life cycle of the HIV virus by binding to the virus’ capsid and inhibiting its replication at multiple stages of its lifecycle. Developed by Gilead Sciences Inc, lenacapavir was first approved as Sunlenca in 2022 for people who had been heavily treated with HIV drugs and become resistant.
