It’s not every year that a single study ignites excitement across the global HIV prevention movement. But this March, at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) 2025 , held in San Francisco from 9 to 12 March , we witnessed something truly promising. A new approach to HIV prevention moved closer to reality: a once-yearly injectable medicine called Lenacapavir could soon transform how we protect people from HIV. For those of us who have spent years advocating for better, simpler and more respectful prevention options, this is more than just a scientific milestone. It represents hope, delivered in a single injection. A Single Shot, a Year of Protection The data came from a Phase 1 study involving 40 HIV-negative adults , aged 18 to 55, all considered at low risk for HIV. Each participant received one injection of Lenacapavir into the buttock muscle, using either a 5% or 10% ethanol-based formulation. They were then followed for 56 weeks . The results ...