Injectable HIV drug with novel mechanism named Science's Breakthrough of 2024

The injectable HIV drug lenacapavir. /CFP

An injectable HIV drug with a novel mechanism was named on Thursday by the influential U.S. journal "Science" as Breakthrough of the Year.

The drug, named lenacapavir, targets the structure and function of HIV's capsid protein. It protects people for 6 months with each shot.

Unlike mainstay HIV drugs that disrupt viral enzymes by binding to the "active sites" that allow them to function, lenacapavir interacts with the capsid proteins that form a protective cone around the viral RNA, according to Science.

Many HIV/AIDS researchers are hopeful that the drug, developed by American biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, will powerfully drive down global infection rates when used as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

A large efficacy trial in African adolescent girls and young women reported in June that these shots reduced HIV infections to zero, which was 100 percent efficacy, according to Science.

Whether lenacapavir PrEP will become widely used and speed the end of the HIV/AIDS epidemic depends on access, delivery, and demand. Regulatory approval is not expected until the middle of 2025 at the earliest, according to Science.

Other annual breakthroughs named by Science include unleashing immune cells on autoimmune disease; NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's probe into the cosmic dawn; the first RNA-based pesticide entering the field; the discovery of unique nitrogen-fixing compartments in the cells of marine algae; the emergence of a new type of magnetism; a new discovery suggesting simple multicellular eukaryotes dating back to 1.6 billion years ago; mantle waves sculpting the continents; the SpaceX Starship achieving a "chopstick" landing; and ancient DNA revealing family ties.