Politics & Government

FDA Approves Foster City-Based Drug to Block HIV

The once-a-day pill Truvada is the first federally sanctioned agent to prevent HIV in unaffected adults.

In a major development in the fight against AIDS, federal authorities on Monday made a drug from Foster City-based Gilead Sciences (GILD) the world's first approved medication to help prevent the spread of HIV, according to an article in the San Jose Mercury News.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given Gilead the green light to sell its once-a-day pill Truvada as the first federally sanctioned agent to prevent HIV in uninfected adults, the article stated.

previously was approved in 2004 in combination with other medications as a treatment for adults who already are infected with HIV. The drug is the most-prescribed such medication in the United States, according to Gilead.

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