Preliminary testing of two long-acting injectable drugs has indicated that it could be possible to keep HIV at bay forever with injections every month or two. On Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson and partner ViiV Healthcare, which is specialized in HIV drugs, announced the finding of the first 32 weeks of the scheduled 96-week study, which has combined one drug from each company.

Major additional testing is required but the combination treatment would be a first if gets approval and may ultimately be a big advance over a disease, which was once almost universally fatal.

During the study, the 309 patients tested, who were tested first had prior treatment using daily pills that decreased the HIV virus to such levels that it was undetectable in their blood. Nearly 95% of those who then received experimental injections had the bloodborne virus kept in control over the 32 weeks, as compared to 91% in another group taking three pills every day. Both the groups continue to get medication and periodic testing of blood.

An AIDS expert and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, said that the reported results by the companies have 'provided a very important evidence of concept that this approach was feasible'.

Kuritzkes, a consultant to ViiV but was not a part of this research, stressed that the injections should undergo extra testing, in a lot more patients and for much longer. He added that there are many drug companies that are working on similar approaches but none was as advanced in testing.