FDA Panel Backs First Drug to Block HIV

A panel of federal health advisers has endorsed the first drug shown to prevent HIV infection in healthy people, clearing the way for a potentially landmark approval in the 30-year-old effort against the virus that causes AIDS. In a series of votes, the FDA advisory panel recommended approval of the daily pill Truvada for healthy people who are at high risk of contracting HIV, including gay and bisexual men, and heterosexual couples with one HIV-infected person.

The FDA is not required to follow the panel's advice, though it usually does. A final decision is expected by June 15. Drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc. already markets Truvada as a treatment for people who are infected with HIV. (More AIDS stories.)