When taken daily, emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (F/TDF) for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has a high success rate of preventing HIV infection. When compared with TDF for HIV treatment, tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) has higher intracellular tenofovir-diphosphate levels, lower plasma tenofovir levels, and is associated with improved renal and bone safety.

Now, investigators have set out to research the efficacy and safety of F/TDF (Truvada) when compared with emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (F/TAF; Descovy) in the DISCOVER study.

The study, which enrolled cisgender-men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women who are at high risk for HIV acquisition, was presented in a late-breaking oral abstract session at the Annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2019) on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. The study was a randomized, double-blind, active-controlled investigation that was conducted in North America and Europe at sites with high HIV prevalence in MSM.

"What we were able to determine from this study is that Descovy is non-inferior in its efficacy for PrEP compared to Truvada," Dr. Hare told Contagion®. "We also had some pre-specified secondary endpoints looking at safety parameters, specifically bone and renal safety using these drugs, and we found a significant difference between the arms that favored the Descovy product over Truvada." Read more via Contagion