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# Commonly used HIV drug being tested in COVID-19 trials
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/commonly-used-hiv-drug-being-tested-in-covid-19-trials/
- Published: 2020-05-03T13:53:11.000Z
- Updated: 2020-05-07T08:20:46.000Z
- Description: Commonly used HIV drug being tested in COVID-19 trials
- Author: Contributor

[![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/coro600400.jpg)](https://www.gscene.com/news/hiv-aids-service-providers-condemn-mass-covid-19-texts-sent-to-people-living-with-hiv/attachment/coro600400/?ref=scenemag.co.uk)

****Gscene update for this article May 6th 2020: *This trial will not prove that PREP prevents Coronavirus, but may show an option for the use of these medications to treat it.* *This clinical trial in Spain is looking into whether TDF/FTC will prevent COVID-19 or reduce the severity of the illness in healthcare workers. However, doing a trial does not mean that the drugs will work – it just means that it is being explored as a possibility. See [THT PrEP pages for further info about PrEP](https://www.tht.org.uk/news/coronavirus-covid-19?ref=scenemag.co.uk)***

Medical researchers in Spain are testing whether HIV medication **Truvada**, often used as **PrEP**, can also help treat Covid-19.

Spain has been one of the hardest hit countries in the Covid-19 pandemic, with one in 10 deaths reported to be from the healthcare community, and the study will focus on whether healthcare workers could take Truvada, along with a range of other interventions, to prevent them getting Covid-19.

The study is led by **Plan Nacional sobre el Sida**, the **Spanish National AIDS Plan**, and began on **April 1** for an initial period of 12 weeks.

[![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/190307-prep-pills-t600400.png)](https://www.gscene.com/news/commonly-used-hiv-drug-being-tested-in-covid-19-trials/attachment/190307-prep-pills-t600400/?ref=scenemag.co.uk)

There is no suggestion that HIV medication of any sort could or should be seen as a Covid-19 cure or prevention tool. There has been some speculation that the anti-malaria drug **hydroxychloroquine** may also be a possible source of prevention and this drug will also be included in the trials also examining Truvada.

Truvada consists of two drugs, **tenofovir disoproxil fumarate** and **emtricitabine**, and has long been a part of highly effective combination therapies for people living with HIV. It is also used by some HIV-negative people as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, soon to be made widely available across the National Health Service.

The Spanish study will enrol 4,000 participants randomised into groups taking one of a range of single-dose daily regimens. Initial results are expected to be published in late July/August.