Researchers and activists in the trenches of the long fight against H.I.V. got a rare piece of exciting news this week: Results from a large clinical trial in Africa showed that a twice-yearly injection of a new antiviral drug gave young women total protection from the virus. “I got cold shivers,” said Dr. Linda-Gail Bekker, an investigator in the trial of the drug, lenacaprivir, describing the startling sight of a line of zeros in the data column for new infections. and AIDS in South Africa, said it was “the best news ever.”The randomized controlled trial, called Purpose 1, was conducted in Uganda and South Africa. It tested whether the every-six-months injection of lenacaprivir, made by Gilead Sciences, would provide better protection against H.I.V.

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Persons: ”, Linda, Gail Bekker, ” Yvette Raphael Organizations: H.I.V, Gilead Sciences Locations: Africa, South Africa, Uganda