Safety, Tolerability and Acceptability of Long-Acting Cabotegravir (CAB LA) for the Prevention of HIV Among Adolescent Males

This study will establish the minimum safety, tolerability and acceptability data needed to support the use of cabotegravir long-acting injection (CAB LA) in an adolescent population, potentially transforming the field of HIV prevention for young people.

The purpose of this study is to establish the minimum safety, tolerability and acceptability data needed to support the use of cabotegravir long-acting injection (CAB LA) in an adolescent population, potentially transforming the field of HIV prevention for young people. This study will enroll healthy, HIV-uninfected adolescents assigned male at birth, including men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender women (TGW), and gender non-conforming people. The total participant commitment for the entire study is approximately 1.5 years. This study will take place in three steps. In Step 1, participants will receive daily oral CAB tablets for 5 weeks. In Step 2, participants will receive a series of five intramuscular (IM) injections of CAB LA, administered at 8-week intervals after a 4-week loading dose (injections at Weeks 5, 9, 17, 25 \& 33). A safety visit will follow each injection to ascertain safety data, including injection site reactions. In Step 3, all participants who have received at least one injection will be followed quarterly (every 3 months) for 48 weeks after their last injection. Participants will receive oral TDF/FTC for daily use for 48 weeks or may be provided the opportunity to enroll in a local open label study of CAB, if available. Participants will attend about 18 study visits throughout the study. Visits may include physical examinations, blood collection, urine collection, rectal and oral pharyngeal swab collection, risk reduction and adherence counseling, and behavioral or acceptability assessments.