Researchers gathered this week in
Boston documented the first case of an individual contracting HIV
while taking Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
David Knox, MD presented the findings
at the 2016 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections
(CROI), which ended on Thursday.
According
to Poz.com, the 43-year-old gay man in the case tested positive
for a multi-drug resistant strain of HIV after being on Truvada for
two years.
“It is an example that demonstrates
that PrEP can sometimes be ineffective in the face of drug resistant
virus, in the same way that treatment itself can sometimes be
ineffective in the face of drug resistant virus,” said Richard
Harrigan, PhD, one of the researchers on the case. “This case
demonstrates that while PrEP is beneficial, we can't rely on it to be
an infallible magic bullet.”
Gilead's Truvada is a combination of
two drugs. The case is the first to document HIV resistance to
tenofovir and emtricitabine.