Kenyan is among seven other African countries selected to carry out the new test. [Photo/Standard]
Kenya alongside seven other African countries that have been picked to carry out large-scale trials for an injectable HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among uninfected women.
The clinical trials of the new long-acting injectable drug known as cabotegravir (CAB) will be conducted among 3,200 HIV-uninfected, sexually active women in six other countries — Uganda, Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
The trial called HPTN 084 is meant to examine the safety and effectiveness of the injectable drug compared to the daily oral PrEP pills. It will be the first large-scale clinical trial of an injectable medication for HIV prevention in sexually active women aged 18 to 45 years.
The study will be conducted for four and a half years, and participants will be picked randomly.
“In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 60 per cent of all people living with HIV are women,” said Wafaa El-Sadr, the co-principal investigator and professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University. “Young African women share a disproportionate burden and are especially vulnerable to this epidemic.”