From HIV.gov…

PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is an HIV prevention method in which people who do not have HIV take medicine on a daily basis to reduce their risk of getting HIV if they are exposed to the virus. Descovy for PrEP should be used as part of a comprehensive strategy, including adherence to daily administration and safer sex practices, including condoms, to reduce the risk of sexually acquired infections.

The safety and efficacy of Descovy for PrEP were evaluated in a randomized, double-blind multinational trial in 5,387 HIV-negative men and transgender women who have sex with men and were at risk of HIV-1 infection. The trial compared once daily Descovy to Truvada (emtricitabine, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, 200 mg/300 mg), a daily fixed dose combination of two drugs approved in 2012 to prevent the sexual acquisition of HIV; participants were followed for 48 to 96 weeks. The primary endpoint was the rate of HIV-1 infection in each group. The trial showed that Descovy was similar to Truvada in reducing the risk of acquiring HIV-1 infection.

Read the full article on HIV.gov.

From HIV Plus online…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 1.1 million people 13 years old and over are living with HIV, and nearly 14 percent of them are undiagnosed.

While studies from world health organizations continue to expand deeper realities unseen in the epidemic, transgender men are often excluded from the conversation — especially when it comes to PrEP, an HIV prevention strategy that when practiced routinely makes it impossible to contract HIV. Today, the only FDA-approved drug to be used as PrEP is Truvada, a once-daily pill.

Now, thanks to researchers at The Fenway Institute, a groundbreaking study is the first of its kind to investigate PrEP and other biological/psychological factors (like alcohol or substance abuse, depression, relationship status, needle sharing, and more) specifically among transgender men who have sex with men (MSM).

The study, which was published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society, was conducted online from November 2017 to December 2017 and included 857 trans MSM (aged between 18 to 60, though the majority of them were under 30), all of whom were surveyed by researchers to determine their PrEP use and HIV risk factors.

Read the article.