[HARMRED] [Chgo LGBT TF on Sub Ab/use] Chicago-based Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Study Team Responds to Recent iPrEx Study Results - Forum scheduled for December 15

[Dan Bigg]

What do people think about devoting energy to giving a pre-exposure 
anti-HIV medication to people injecting when it is not even clear 
that people injecting have sufficient sterile syringes?  Could it be 
a better use of resources to buy a sufficient supply of sterile 
syringes so that all people injecting and those they see on outreach 
can have one shot-one sterile syringe???? Instead of a medicine which 
might prevent infection infection once exposed?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Peace, Dan


Contact:
Keith Green
keith.green at hektoen.org
Stroger Hospital of Cook County
Administration Building - Dept. of Psychiatry
1900 W. Polk Street, 8th Floor
Chicago, IL 60612
(312) 864-8003


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Chicago-based Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Study Team Responds to Recent 
iPrEx Study Results

Chicago, Illinois - November 29, 2010 - The research team of Project 
PrEPare - a Chicago-based pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) trial being 
conducted through the Adolescent Trials Network for HIV/AIDS 
Interventions (ATN) - is encouraged by recent data demonstrating that 
antiretroviral drugs can prevent HIV infection among men who have sex 
with men and transgendered persons.

The Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Initiative, or iPrEX, was the first 
clinical trial of its kind. This study showed that the antiretroviral 
drug Truvada, when offered as a component of a comprehensive 
prevention package that includes condoms, counseling, and regular 
HIV/STI screening, was associated with a 44% reduction in HIV 
infections in participants who took it compared to those who took 
placebo. Additionally, a nearly 73 percent reduction in infections 
was seen in participants who took the study drug more than 90 percent 
of the time.

"Considering the fact that men who have sex with men continue to be 
disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic here in Chicago, we 
are extremely excited to have data to support a new addition to the 
'toolbox' of HIV prevention interventions currently available to us," 
said Sybil Hosek, PhD, Principal Investigator of Project PrEPare. "We 
must remember, however, that this is only the first step in 
determining whether or not PrEP could become a part of a 
comprehensive HIV prevention package in the real world."

The iPrEx study followed 2,499 healthy, "high-risk" gay men, 
transgender women, and other men who have sex with men from 11 sites 
located in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, and the 
United States. Participants were randomly assigned to take either one 
tablet of Truvada (a combination of tenofovir and emtricitabine) or a 
placebo once a day.  Less than 10 percent of the study sample was 
from the U.S., however, and even fewer represent the ethnic/racial 
backgrounds of MSM most severely impacted by HIV in this country - 
Black MSM.

"Since Truvada is already available and is used as a treatment for 
HIV infection, it is imperative that we educate our communities about 
the encouraging results of this study but caution high-risk 
individuals about its limitations," said Margo Bell, MD, Co-Principal 
Investigator of Project PrEPare. "We don't want people, especially 
our young people, getting the idea that it's as simple as taking a 
pill a day to prevent HIV. It is just not that simple."

Project PrEPare is designed to explore the acceptability and 
feasibility of a PrEP trial among young men who have sex with men in 
Chicago. The study is primarily funded through the Eunice Kennedy 
Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 
with additional support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse 
(NIDA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Project 
PrEPare began enrolling at Chicago's CORE Center and the Howard Brown 
Health Center in November 2009 and was nearly 66 percent enrolled 
upon the release of the iPrEx data.

"Moving forward, it will be critical that we get to some of the 
unanswered questions around the use of PrEP among young MSM in the 
U.S. through studies like Project PrEPare," said Project Director 
Keith Green, MSW. "We owe it to our study participants and the 
Chicagoland YMSM community at large to provide them with as much 
information as we can about this new prevention technology, so that 
they can make informed decisions about their health and safety."

A community forum to discuss the iPrEX data and its potential impact 
on the future directon of Project PrEPare will take place in the 
Michael Leppen Theater at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, on 
Wednesday, December 15th 2010 from 6:30-8:30pm. The discussion will 
be co-facilitated by Jim Pickett, Director of Advocacy for the AIDS 
Foundation of Chicago and Chair of the International Rectal 
Microbicide Advocates

For more information on Project PrEPare or to learn how to get 
involved, contact Keith Green at 773-864-8003 or visit 
www.projectpreparechicago.org.



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