The Dangers of Excluding Women From HIV Prevention Drug Tests | WIRED

The Dangers of Excluding Women From HIV Prevention Drug Tests | WIRED

Call to include cis women in HIV trials Gilead’s PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) drugs, which protect against HIV infection, are causing an uproar among patient advocates and experts because they exclude cisgender women. A recent clinical trial of a Gilead experimental drug called cabotegravir — an antiretroviral injection given every two months — enrolled only cisgender men and transgender women. This followed the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval of another Gilead drug, Descovy, for use by cisgender men and transgender women only. Gilead says it is now planning a new clinical trial focusing on cisgender women. “You never get to ‘end the epidemic’” as long as some women are left behind, says Dazon Dixon Diallo, the founder of advocacy organization SisterLove. Wired | 11 min read