Implants to replace PrEP?

PrEP medication has proven itself as a revolutionary step for HIV prevention. Now it looks like this could go one step further in the future through an implant. The implant will have to be replaced once a year (in contrast to taking medication on a daily basis) and is not visible under the skin.
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The implant goes under the name Islatravir and is placed under the skin of the arm. This would allow the implant to prevent HIV transmission for one year. Pharmaceutical company MSD presented the research results during the 10th edition of the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2019) in Mexico City.

The first human trials were conducted with twelve healthy adults and lasted twelve weeks. A control group of four participants received placebo implants. Currently, HIV can be prevented by PrEP, which must be taken once a day. Matthew Hodson, director of NAM (an organization that focuses on education regarding AIDS and HIV), calls the implant a possible "game changer."

Hodson also emphasized that the implant would mean that people would no longer have to worry about keeping up with a daily dose. And perhaps even more importantly, this development is more discreet than PrEP and could remove certain fears from people who are worried about stigma due to their use of the medication.
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