Safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of an annual tenofovir alafenamide silicone subdermal implant in South African women: a two-part, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, first-in-human, phase 1 trial.

Summary: Women in South Africa face a high risk of getting HIV. Taking a daily pill to prevent HIV can be hard to remember, so scientists created a small implant that goes under the skin to release medicine (called TAF) for a whole year. In a small study with 36 women, they tested if the implant was safe. Unfortunately, while the medicine didn't cause full-body sickness, the implant itself caused a lot of skin problems like scars, dark spots, and hard lumps. Because of these skin reactions, many women had to get the implant taken out early. Also, the implant didn't release enough medicine to protect against HIV. Because of these issues, testing for this specific implant has been stopped, but scientists are still working on better ones for the future.