UPDATE: Grammy-winner Ciara is no stranger to the spotlight. But when she took the stage recently at Texas culture festival South by Southwest (SXSW), she used her voice to raise awareness about HIV prevention.

The “Goodies” and “Level Up” hitmaker joined HIV advocate Dr. Leo Moore and radio host Loren LoRosa in a panel discussion titled “Amplifying HIV Prevention Through Pop Culture and Music.”

yeztugo lenacapavir PrEP

From left: Pop star Ciara, media personality Loren LoRosa and HIV advocate Dr. Leo Moore talk culture and HIV prevention March 14, 2026, at SXSW in Austin, Texas.Courtesy of Getty Images for Gilead Sciences/ Daniel Boczarski

Earlier this year, Ciara’s early 2000s hit “1, 2 Step” was reimagined for the “One2PrEP” campaign for Yeztugo (lenacapavir), drugmaker Gilead Sciences’ twice-yearly injectable to prevent HIV.

“Being part of this conversation with Gilead at SXSW is really meaningful to me because I believe music, culture and media can help spark new and important conversations about health,” Ciara said. “If using my platform helps break down barriers and encourages people to talk to their providers about their HIV prevention options, then that’s incredibly powerful.”

Below is our original March 12 news item about the One2PrEP campaign:

Last summer, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first twice-yearly pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV. Sold as Yeztugo (lenacapavir), it’s the longest-acting PrEP on the market and was hailed as a “much-needed boost for HIV prevention” that’s “poised to reshape the HIV response.” And now, in early 2026, we’re seeing how drugmaker Gilead Sciences will market Yeztugo. The resultant ad may sound familiar, literally.

Watch the spot below or on YouTube:

 

Yeztugo’s “One2PrEP” commercial features the early-2000s hit song “1, 2 Step” by Ciara (featuring Missy Elliott) to promote larger conversations about HIV stigma and prevention. The minute-long ad revamps the song’s lyrics using phrases such as “one office visit every six months,” “your summer sun,” and “your winter fun” to emphasize the ease of biannual HIV prevention and help normalize discussions about PrEP. The campaign is being rolled out across TV, digital, social, print, dating apps and community settings. According to the industry news site Fierce Pharma, Gilead worked with Ciara to tweak her hit for the ad.

Here’s Ciara’s original 2004 video for “1, 2 Step”:

 

Yeztugo is administered as a shot every six months. Its generic name is lenacapavir, which had previously been approved as part of treatment for people living with HIV. To learn more about this long-acting injectable, visit the POZ Drug Page for Yeztugo and check out the June 2025 article “FDA Approves Twice‑Yearly Lenacapavir for HIV Prevention.” It reads in part,

 

“Lenacapavir, the first HIV capsid inhibitor, is an antiretroviral drug that blocks viral replication. It is not a vaccine that trains the immune system to fight the virus, but after all traditional HIV vaccine candidates have failed in studies to date, long-acting PrEP is the next best thing.

 

Lenacapavir was approved in 2022 under the brand name Sunlenca to be used in combination regimens for treatment-experienced people with multidrug-resistant HIV. Lenacapavir for PrEP, which is used alone, was given a new brand name—Yeztugo—and a price reduction from about $42,000 per year.”

 

To date, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved four forms of PrEP: Truvada and Descovy are daily pills; Apretude is a shot given every two months; and  Yeztugo is a twice-yearly injectable that is highly effective in women, gay men and gender-diverse populations. Due to insufficient evidence, Descovy is not yet indicated as PrEP for cisgender women and trans men. Generic (and much cheaper) versions of Truvada are available.

 

To learn more about PrEP, see the POZ Basics on HIV Prevention: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

 

“Some people mistakenly believe HIV is no longer a public threat, yet in the U.S., 700 new cases occur every week—that is 100 people newly diagnosed with HIV every day,” Ashley Gildea, vice president of marketing and U.S. HIV prevention at Gilead, told Contagion Live. “Others wrongly assume HIV only impacts certain communities, though anyone can contract the virus.” 

 

According to HIV.gov, people who acquired HIV through heterosexual contact accounted for 22% of new infections in 2022, while men who have sex with men accounted for 67%. As of 2023, in terms of race and ethnicity, the highest rates of new HIV diagnoses occur among Black or Latino populations, notably those living in the South and younger than 34, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A recent study found that transgender women are diagnosed with HIV at higher rates than the rest of the population, and HIV incidence was the highest for Black, Latina and Asian trans women.

 

“We want to see an end to the HIV epidemic, and reducing stigma is central to ending HIV, and that means talking about prevention in open, relatable ways,” Gildea told Contagion Live. “This includes embracing opportunities to raise awareness and educate on a large scale. It’s about inclusivity, so everyone—Black women, Latino men, young people—knows that PrEP and Yeztugo are for everyone.”