Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced that the company completed submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval of lenacapavir, an investigational, long-acting HIV-1 capsid inhibitor, for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in heavily treatment-experienced (HTE) people with multi-drug resistant (MDR) HIV-1 infection. The submission is supported by data from the Phase 2/3 CAPELLA trial, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of lenacapavir administered subcutaneously every six months in combination with an optimized antiretroviral background regimen. Key data on lenacapavir will be presented during the 11th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science in July 2021. In May 2019, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the development of lenacapavir for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in heavily treatment-experienced patients with multi-drug resistance in combination with other antiretroviral drugs. Lenacapavir, which is being studied as an every-six-month subcutaneous injection, is a potential first-in-class capsid inhibitor for the treatment of HIV-1 infection without overlapping resistance with any currently approved antiretroviral therapy (ART). Lenacapavir is being developed in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and pediatric patients weighing at least 35 kg with MDR HIV-1 infection who are currently on a failing antiretroviral treatment regimen due to resistance, intolerance or safety considerations. Lenacapavir is designed to inhibit HIV-1 replication by interfering with multiple, essential steps of the viral lifecycle, including capsid-mediated uptake of HIV-1 proviral DNA, virus assembly and release, and capsid core formation. Gilead plans to submit marketing authorization applications for lenacapavir to the European Medicines Agency and other global agencies in the coming months. Lenacapavir is an investigational compound and is not approved by any regulatory authority for any use and its safety and efficacy are not established. There is no cure for HIV or AIDS.