Early results from implementation of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with long-acting injectable cabotegravir for people with barriers to oral strategies, Italy, December 2024 to August 2025
Between December 2024 and August 2025, two Italian HIV/STI clinics offered long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) for HIV prevention in 265 individuals, representing the first European real-world implementation. Participants were prioritised based on vulnerabilities compromising oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), such as poor adherence, comorbidities and behavioural barriers. Adherence to injections exceeded 95%, tolerability was favourable and only 1.5% discontinued for drug-related reasons. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of CAB-LA in European clinical services and support its use in specific populations.
Authors
- G. Del Frate
- Davide Moschese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5901-6742)
- Samuel Lazzarin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9174-2091)
- V Barchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5725-2628)
- Maddalena Matone
- Sara Passacantilli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9781-0621)
- Andrea Antinori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2121-4684)
- Paolo Faccendini
- Rozenn Esvan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6127-0045)
- Damiano Farinacci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9106-7742)
- D Maddalena
- Andrea Gori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6587-4794)
- Valentina Mazzotta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0240-7504)
- Agostino Riva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3171-3049)
- Francesco Caruso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9665-9234)
- Giulia Micheli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7996-8345)
- Debora Visigalli
- Maria Vittoria Cossu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6984-3028)
- Alessandro Giacinta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9031-619X)
- Chiara Fusetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1028-505X)
- Giulia Terracini
- Giulia Del Duca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5720-7738)
- Francesco Petri
Institutions
- University of Milan (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale per le Malattie Infettive Lazzaro Spallanzani (IT)
- Centre for Multidisciplinary Research in Health Science (IT)
- ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Eurosurveillance
- Published
- 2025-10-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.es.2025.30.39.2500739
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.79