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BETHESDA, Md., April 7 (UPI) -- The National Institutes of Health is launching two trials of an antibody thought to prevent HIV infection, which researchers say could help the development of a vaccine against the virus.
The AMP, or antibody-mediated prevention, studies will test the efficacy of VRC01 to prevent infection in HIV-negative high-risk people in the United States, South America and Africa during the next six years, the agency said in a press release.
The daily pill pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, sold as Truvada, has been shown in several studies to effectively reduce the risk of acquiring HIV, as well as shown to be as safe to take as aspirin.
Unlike PrEP, VRC01 is an injection, given every eight weeks, an aspect researchers said may help keep people on the drug regimen better than remembering to take a pill every day.