A new study of the longest-acting form of injectable PrEP, lenacapavir, has shown no adverse interactions with hormone therapy for trans women and men.Marketed under the brand name Yeztugo by Gilead Sciences, the twice-annual PrEP injectable was approved by the FDA in June, marking a big advance in long-lasting protection against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Related U.S. ships groundbreaking HIV drug to Africa, but slashed funding threatens progress GlaxoSmithKlines PrEP injectable cabotegravir, known as Apretude and approved for use in 2021, provides two months of protection. Cabotegravir in pill form is marketed as Truvada and taken daily.Results of the lenacapavir study revealed levels of feminizing and masculinizing hormones remained generally comparable before and after its administration, researchers shared at IDWeek 2025, an annual gathering of infectious disease professionals, POZ magazine reports. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today In the most gender-diverse Phase III PrEP trial conducted to date, lenacapavir had no clinically significant impact on feminizing or masculinizing gender-affirming therapy concentrations, researchers said.While trans people make up about 1% of the U.S. population, they accounted for 2% of new HIV diagnoses in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Compounding that statistic, prior studies indicate some trans people at high risk for HIV transmission are hesitant to take antiretrovirals for HIV prevention over concerns about their impact on hormone therapy. Estimates suggest that just 20% of gender-diverse people have used PrEP, while adherence can be as low as 30%.As of 2023, 45% of gay and bisexual men in the U.S. who are at high risk for HIV have used PrEP, according to the Centers for Disease Control in a report issued last year (which removed by the Trump administration from its website in January.A long-lasting alternative to daily medication could be key to improving those low numbers for trans people. Twice-annual lenacapavir injections are also more affordable compared to alternative HIV prevention options, with an estimated cost of just under $60 annually for the drug, versus $160 for six injections of Apretude, and hundreds of dollars a year for daily oral doses, even with health insurance.The study by Jill Blumenthal, MD, of the University of California San Diego and her colleagues looked at interactions between lenacapavir and hormones, including testosterone and estradiol, a form of estrogen. Those hormones are metabolized by enzymes that Lenacapavir can inhibit, potentially affecting hormone levels. The researchers conducted a pharmacokinetic analysis using blood samples from a subset of participants in an earlier efficacy study of the drug over 52 weeks. Among more than 2,000 participants, 14% identified as trans women, 1% as trans men, and 6% as nonbinary (mostly assigned female at birth). Of those, 253 people reported using gender-affirming hormones. Concentrations of estrogen and testosterone in these users were generally comparable before and after lenacapavir administration. Taken together with our prior findings that gender-affirming hormone therapy had no significant effect on lenacapavir pharmacokinetics, these data support the concurrent use of twice-yearly lenacapavir PrEP and feminizing or masculinizing gender-affirming hormone therapy without dose adjustment in gender diverse individuals, addressing a key barrier to PrEP uptake and adherence in a population that is disproportionately vulnerable to HIV acquisition, the studys authors said.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.