MEXICO CITY – Ten years after the RV144 "Thai trial" was the first to show that an effective HIV vaccine was possible, three efficacy trials for HIV vaccines are once again underway.

Durect Corp. (NASDAQ: DRXX) got a solid bump after announcing it granted Gilead Sciences Inc. exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize a long-acting injectable HIV product created with Durect's platform, Saber, in a deal that could generate more than $300 million for Durect.

Getting on top of the persistent HIV epidemic requires getting ahead of new cases, but only about 7% of at-risk patients have been advised of a prophylactic drug regime approved by the FDA seven years ago. Two new studies appearing in The Lancet HIV suggest that an algorithm that uses electronic health record (EHR) data can help physicians identify their at-risk patients who are good candidates for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), thus improving the odds that modern medicine might finally put an end to the scourge of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Getting on top of the persistent HIV epidemic requires getting ahead of new cases, but only about 7% of at-risk patients have been advised of a prophylactic drug regime approved by the FDA seven years ago. Two new studies appearing in The Lancet HIV suggest that an algorithm that uses electronic health record (EHR) data can help physicians identify their at-risk patients who are good candidates for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), thus improving the odds that modern medicine might finally put an end to the scourge of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.