NIH Study Finds Substantially Lower Concentration of PrEP Drug in Teens and Young Women During Pregnancy Than Postpartum

Monday, March 9, 2020 NIH Study Finds Substantially Lower Concentration of PrEP Drug in Young Women During Pregnancy Than Postpartum The IMPAACT 2009 study team measured the concentration of the PrEP drug tenofovir in dried blood spots like those pictured here. Credit: Peter Anderson          Among African adolescent girls and young women who took HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) daily, levels of the PrEP drug tenofovir were more than 30% lower in those who were pregnant than in those who had recently given birth. All 40 study participants took PrEP under direct observation, confirming their near-perfect adherence. These findings from the NIH-funded IMPAACT 2009 study were reported today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Boston.          The study investigators suggest that nonetheless, daily PrEP may provide substantial protection for pregnant African adolescents and young women as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention program.         “Adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa, including those who are pregnant or have recently given birth, urgently need safe, desirable and effective HIV prevention tools,” said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “While taking PrEP daily as directed is important for everyone who receives it, these new data suggest daily adherence to PrEP will be especially critical for pregnant adolescents and young women. Additional research is needed to determine the level of protection that daily PrEP can provide this population.”         NIAID is a co-funder of IMPAACT 2009.         Read the NIAID press release.