Key points at a glance
🔬 Progress, but no vaccine yet
Studies into vaccines, antibodies and new medicines are underway worldwide. HIV research is making progress, but there is still no authorised HIV vaccine.
🧬 Why is it so difficult?
HIV mutates rapidly, hides within the body and forms early reservoirs. Vaccines and new treatments must therefore have a very broad spectrum of action and be effective over the long term.
💉 PrEP as an injection
The PrEP injection containing lenacapavir has been authorised in the EU since August 2025. Two injections a year provide very reliable protection against HIV; however, this is a long-acting PrEP, not a vaccine.
💉 Treatment by injection
Long-term treatment with cabotegravir plus rilpivirine has been authorised in the EU since December 2020. Depending on the treatment regimen, the two injections are administered roughly once a month or every two months. They keep the viral load low, but do not cure HIV.
HIV research: what does this mean?
HIV research encompasses all scientific work relating to:
- Prevention: vaccines, PrEP tablets, PrEP injections, new active substances
- Treatment: more effective combination therapies, long-acting injections, fewer side effects
- Cure: Strategies designed to permanently remove HIV from the body or eliminate it entirely
The aims of the research are, for example
- Prevent infections
- Making therapies simpler and more tolerable
- to improve the quality of life of people with HIV
- to achieve a long-term cure or functional recovery
You can already see many results in everyday life: very effective medication, U=U, PrEP and now also injections for prevention and treatment.
Vaccines and antibodies
Is there an HIV vaccine?
This is still not the case: there is no authorised vaccine that reliably protects against HIV infection. Several large-scale vaccine trials involving so-called mosaic vaccines or vector vaccines have been discontinued because the level of protection was insufficient.
Nevertheless, the work continues:
Broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs)
These are antibodies that can recognise and block many different HIV variants in the laboratory. Studies are investigating whether infusions or injections administered at longer intervals can protect against infection.
mRNA approaches
As with COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA is intended to instruct the immune system to produce broad-spectrum antibodies specifically targeting HIV. This would require several doses of the vaccine administered over an extended period.
Therapeutic vaccinations
These are aimed at people who are already living with HIV. The aim is to strengthen the immune system so that less medication would be necessary or longer breaks would be possible. This is still a long way off.
In short: progress is being made, but there is no vaccine for everyday use yet. This is why other methods of protection remain important.
Injections to protect against HIV (PrEP) – the current situation in Germany
For a long time, PrEP was only available as a tablet. Since 2025, Lenacapavir has also been available as a long-acting PrEP injection. However, despite being authorised by the EU, it is virtually unavailable in Germany.
- Lenacapavir is a long-acting medicine that is administered as a subcutaneous injection. It is only given twice a year, six months apart.
- The European Commission authorised lenacapavir as PrEP in August 2025.
- In the PURPOSE-1 trial, lenacapavir-based PrEP was 100 per cent effective in preventing mother-to-child transmission (%) among sexually active women in sub-Saharan Africa; not a single case of transmission occurred among the trial participants.
The problem: no funding, no market launch
Neither the statutory health insurance schemes nor private health insurers have so far covered the costs of lenacapavir as PrEP, as no agreement on the price has been reached between the manufacturer and the health insurers. The reason for this is the significantly higher cost compared with existing tablet-based PrEP, which is currently preventing the costs from being covered.
Syringe for the treatment of HIV
In treatment too, injections are now used instead of daily tablets:
- Long-term treatment with cabotegravir plus rilpivirine (often referred to as Vocabria plus Rekambys) has been authorised in the EU since December 2020. It has also been available in Germany since May 2021 and is covered by health insurance funds.
- The two injections are administered intramuscularly by healthcare professionals – approximately once a month or every two months, depending on the treatment schedule.
- They are intended for people with HIV whose viral load is already well controlled and undetectable.
What's the point?
For many, it is easier to go to an appointment every one or two months than to think about tablets every day
No more daily intake of tablets
More discreet, because there is no medication lying around at home
Research into cures: how close are we?
Time and again, we read about people who, following a stem cell transplant, apparently no longer had any detectable HIV in their bodies – such as the so-called Berlin patient or the London patient. These cases are important for research, but there are significant limitations:
- The transplants were life-saving treatments for cancer, not primarily for HIV.
- They are risky, expensive and not suitable as a standard procedure.
Current approaches in healing research:
- ‘Shock and kill’ or ‘block and lock’: these approaches either activate dormant viral reservoirs in order to destroy them in a targeted manner, or block them so that they can no longer become active.
- Combinations of bNAbs, therapeutic vaccines and long-acting medicines.
- Genetic processes designed to make cells resistant to HIV.
To date, there is no method that can be used safely, widely and with an acceptable level of risk. In everyday life, HIV therefore remains a chronic but easily treatable infection.
Safely protected: starting today
Even though HIV research has not yet produced a vaccine or a cure for everyone, the existing means of protection are very effective:
Condoms
High protection against HIV and many other STIs. The right size, enough lubricant and a look at the expiry date are important.
PrEP tablet
It is highly effective when taken correctly, whether as long-term PrEP or short-term PrEP. Regular HIV and STI tests are part of this.
PrEP injection (lenacapavir)
One injection every six months replaces the daily pill. This is particularly handy if you have sex irregularly or find it difficult to fit taking the pill into your daily routine.
Protection through therapy (U=U)
People with HIV whose viral load is undetectable under effective treatment do not pass on HIV during sex.
PEP (emergency measure)
PEP refers to emergency medication taken following a risk, such as a broken condom. You should start taking it as soon as possible, at the latest within 48 hours, and it is usually taken for 28 days.
Tests and counselling
Regular HIV and STI tests provide clarity.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly does HIV research involve?
These include prevention – such as vaccines and new forms of PrEP – treatment – such as improved combination therapies and long-acting injections – and research into a cure, i.e. strategies designed to permanently eliminate HIV from the body.
What are broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs)?
These are antibodies that can recognise and block many different variants of HIV in the laboratory. Studies are investigating whether infusions or injections administered at longer intervals can protect against infection.
What do the "Berlin Patient" and "London Patient" cases mean for research into a cure for HIV?
In these individuals, HIV was no longer detectable following a stem cell transplant. However, the transplants were carried out as a life-saving treatment for cancer, not primarily for HIV, and are risky, expensive and not suitable as a standard procedure.
What do the terms "shock and kill" and "block and lock" mean in the field of medical research?
These are two research approaches aimed at combating dormant viral reservoirs in the body: „Shock and kill“ specifically activates them in order to destroy them afterwards, whilst „Block and lock“ blocks them so that they can no longer become active.
