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Use of a vaginal ring containing dapivirine for HIV-1 prevention in women
Baeten, J. M., Palanee-Phillips, T., Brown, E. R., Schwartz, K., Soto-Torres, L. E., Govender, V., Mgodi, N. M., Kiweewa, F. M., Nair, G., Mhlanga, F., Siva, S., Bekker, L. .-G., Jeenarain, N., Gaffoor, Z., Martinson, F., Makanani, B., Pather, A., Naidoo, L., Husnik, M., ... MTN-020 ASPIRE Study Team (2016). Use of a vaginal ring containing dapivirine for HIV-1 prevention in women. New England Journal of Medicine, 375(22), 2121-2132. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1506110
Antiretroviral medications that are used as prophylaxis can prevent acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. However, in clinical trials among African women, the incidence of HIV-1 infection was not reduced, probably because of low adherence. Longer-acting methods of drug delivery, such as vaginal rings, may simplify use of antiretroviral medications and provide HIV-1 protection.
METHODS
We conducted a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a monthly vaginal ring containing dapivirine, a non-nucleoside HIV-1 reverse-transcriptase inhibitor, involving women between the ages of 18 and 45 years in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
RESULTS
Among the 2629 women who were enrolled, 168 HIV-1 infections occurred: 71 in the dapivirine group and 97 in the placebo group (incidence, 3.3 and 4.5 per 100 personyears, respectively). The incidence of HIV-1 infection in the dapivirine group was lower by 27% (95% confidence interval [ CI], 1 to 46; P = 0.046) than that in the placebo group. In an analysis that excluded data from two sites that had reduced rates of retention and adherence, the incidence of HIV-1 infection in the dapivirine group was lower by 37% (95% CI, 12 to 56; P = 0.007) than that in the placebo group. In a post hoc analysis, higher rates of HIV-1 protection were observed among women over the age of 21 years (56%; 95% CI, 31 to 71; P <0.001) but not among those 21 years of age or younger (-27%; 95% CI, -133 to 31; P = 0.45), a difference that was correlated with reduced adherence. The rates of adverse medical events and antiretroviral resistance among women who acquired HIV-1 infection were similar in the two groups.
CONCLUSIONS
A monthly vaginal ring containing dapivirine reduced the risk of HIV-1 infection among African women, with increased efficacy in subgroups with evidence of increased adherence. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01617096.)
