San Francisco Chronicle: Researchers Should Not Give Up Search for HIV Prevention Pill

A San Francisco Chronicle editorial summarizes several questions that remain following the recent announcement that an oral HIV drug was no more effective at reducing the risk of HIV infection in women than the placebo: "Why did the drug do well with men but not women? Did the women take the drug faithfully as required? Or is Truvada, which combines two drugs that tamp down AIDS symptoms, another blind alley in the search for a rock-solid preventative?"

Although women today "have more options than ever before" for HIV treatment, "[t]he flip side to this success story is that drug companies feel less compelled to produce new drugs if existing ones are doing the job. The magic-bullet drug, now that Truvada's fallen short, needs the full attention of researchers. It's no time to give up," the editorial concludes (4/19).

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