U.S. develops AIDS prevention drug 100% effective in monkeys

Business, March 6 (Upi) -- Scientists have developed a new type of injectable drug that has been shown to be effective in preventing HIV in monkeys, according to a study published in the American journal Science, researchers at the U.Scenter for
diseaseprevention and control of the U.S., 12 monkeys, six of whom were injected with the new drug every four weeks, and six others were given a placeboFor the following 11 weeks, all the monkeys were exposed to HIV infection twice a weekIt was found that the monkeys who had been injected with the drug had no HIV at all, while the other six monkeys who had not been injected with the drug were all infected with HIVThis means that the long-acting drug, in the monkey trial phase, can be 100% resistant to HIV, the researchers saidresearchers say the drug could become another important way to prevent AIDS if it works the same way in human trialsIn the future, people may be able to effectively avoid HIV infection by taking a shot every one to three monthsScientists will begin clinical trials with GlaxoSmithKline in the U.Sin the coming months, and more safety data on the drug is expected next yearWHO data show that AIDS, a global public health problem, has so far killed more than 36 million people and in 2012 some 35.3 million people were living with HIV