In this episode of the Conversations with CEI, infectious disease specialist Dr. Steven Fine delves into groundbreaking advancements in the treatment of urogenital gonorrhea. The episode highlights the FDA's December 2025 approval of two innovative oral therapies that mark a significant step forward in combating this prevalent sexually transmitted infection.

Dr. Fine discusses the first of these treatments, Zoliflodacin (Nuzolvence), a novel medication specifically developed for urogenital gonorrhea. Administered as a single oral dose, it offers patients a convenient and effective option. The second treatment, Gepotidacin (Blujepa), is a versatile drug initially approved in March 2025 for urinary tract infections (UTIs). Now, it has been authorized for urogenital gonorrhea treatment, requiring two oral doses for optimal efficacy.

Throughout the episode, Dr. Fine provides insights into the clinical trials, mechanisms of action, and potential impact of these therapies on public health. He also emphasizes the importance of addressing antibiotic resistance in gonorrhea and how these new treatments may help mitigate this growing concern.

For more information, listeners can refer to the FDA's official announcement and other resources provided below.

Tune in to this episode to learn more about these exciting developments and their implications for the future of infectious disease treatment. Related Content:

• FDA Approves Two Oral Therapies to Treat Gonorrhea https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-two-oral-therapies-treat- gonorrhea
• CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.
• https://ceitraining.org/

On June 18, 2025, the FDA approved Yeztugo, the brand name for subcutaneous lenacapavir, a prescription medication used for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of HIV. Subcutaneous lenacapavir is administered twice a year (every six months) to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection in adults and adolescents at risk. With patients only needing lenacapavir twice a year for HIV prevention, the field has been optimistic about the potential for lenacapavir to reduce barriers and improve access to PrEP. Since we are still early in the rollout subcutaneous lenacapavir, many providers have questions about how to offer it to their patients—from workflow to billing to managing potential side effects and drug-drug interactions.

On this episode, Antonio Urbina, MD, Medical Director for CEI’s HIV Primary Care and Prevention Center of Excellence, speaks with Alex Danforth, PharmD. Alex Danforth is a clinical pharmacist in Rochester, NY. She practices at Trillium Health, a federally qualified health center, where she works with patients and providers to help manage medications and optimize care. Alex currently provides clinical leadership for HIV treatment and prevention programs.

Drs. Urbina and Danforth talk about the latest New York State Clinical Guidelines for PrEP, which were updated on October 16th. The new guidelines provide important updates, including subcutaneous lenacapavir. They discuss important considerations for initiating patients on lenacapavir as well as some early lessons learned from implementing lenacapavir in their Rochester- and New York City-based clinics. Related Content:

• PrEP to Prevent HIV and Promote Sexual Health
• University of Liverpool HIV Drug Interactions Checker (website and app)
• CEI Line: 1-866-637-2342
• https://ceitraining.org/

This month, host Dr. Marguerite Urban chats with Dr. Jason Zucker, an adult and pediatric infectious diseases physician at Columbia University and the assistant medical director of the New York City HIV/STI Prevention Training Center, about an emerging fungal infection, Trichophyton mentagrophytes Genotype VII, also known as TMVII. Curious about what clinicians should know about TMVII? Listen now to learn more! Related Content:

• CEI Line: 1-866-637-2342
• www.ceitraining.org
• www.hivguidelines.org
• “Notes from the Field: Trichophyton mentagrophytes Genotype VII – New York City, April – July 2024” - https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7343a5.htm
• Emerging Sexual Transmission of Trichophyton mentagrophytes Genotype VII Infections, United States - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/10/25-1056_article
• Information for Healthcare Providers: Emerging Ringworm - https://www.cdc.gov/ringworm/hcp/clinician-brief-resistant-infections/index.html

On September 9th, CEI hosted its first in-person conference dedicated to hepatitis C and drug user health. A group of New York State-based clinicians met in Catskill for a full day agenda focused on (1) integrating wellness into clinical practice as a way to improve patient care and outcomes, and (2) innovative decision-making frameworks to help clinicians navigate complex scenarios in the absence of strong formal evidence, like clinical guidelines and peer reviewed studies.

This episode of “Conversations with CEI” features conference planner and facilitator Taylor Edelmann – an educator and consultant working at the intersection of LGBTQIA+ health, drug user health and harm reduction – sharing his experience and insights about the day. Taylor currently oversees the Lighthouse Learning Collective at the National Harm Reduction Coalition, a program focused on supporting LGBTQIA+ harm reductionists and people who use drugs and engage in sex work. As one of the first openly transgender NCAA athletes, Taylor brings a deeply personal lens to his work advocating for gender-affirming care. He regularly provides clinical education and technical assistance to providers across the country, including Yale University and one of Connecticut’s largest federally qualified health centers, and recently presented at the 2025 Harm Reduction International Conference in Bogotá, Colombia. Taylor is also the co-creator of ChemSex Awareness Week, and the lead author of Gender Affirming Harm Reduction: A Toolkit for Syringe Service Programs, the first resource of its kind developed specifically for social service providers in harm reduction settings. Related Content:

• 2025 Annual NYS Hepatitis C and Drug User Health conference website: https://ceitraining.org/conference/conferences/3
• Lighthouse Learning Collective at the National Harm Reduction Coalition: https://harmreduction.org/our-work/action/lighthouse-learning-collective/
• Gender Affirming Harm Reduction: A Toolkit for Syringe Service Programs: https://lighthousetoolkit.my.canva.site/
• Narrative Medicine: https://www.aamc.org/news/narrative-medicine-every-patient-has-story
• Drug, Set, and Setting: The Basis for Controlled Intoxicant Use: https://southwestrecoveryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Drug-Set-and-Setting-Zinberg-N-1.pdf

• CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.

• ceitraining.org

In this episode of Conversations with CEI, Dr. Steven Fine unpacks some of the latest developments and research presented at the 2025 International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science, held in Kigali, Rwanda. From innovative treatment strategies to advancements in prevention and global health equity, Dr. Fine highlights the pivotal discussions and groundbreaking studies that are shaping the future of HIV care. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of the strides being made in the fight against HIV and the collaborative efforts driving progress on a global scale. Related Content:

• The International AIDS Society (IAS) https://www.iasociety.org/conferences/ias2025 Official site for the IAS 2025, 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science, held in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 14-17, 2025.
• https://www.iasociety.org/blog/takeaways-ias-2025 Takaways from the IAS 2025 Conference

• CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.

• www.ceitraining.org

• NYS DOH AI Guidance on Addressing the Needs of Older Patients in HIV Care: https://www.hivguidelines.org/guideline/hiv-aging/

• CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.

• ceitraining.org

Live from Canandaigua…it’s the 11th Annual NYS Sexual Health Conference!

The CEI Sexual Health Center of Excellence hosted the 11th Annual NYS Sexual Health Conference in-person on Friday May 2, 2025, in beautiful Canandaigua, NY. This was the Center’s second in-person conference since the COVID-19 pandemic and was the Center’s largest in-person event held to-date, bringing together over 225 clinicians and public health professionals from across NYS (and beyond!).

In this episode, host Juhua Wu, Director of the University of Rochester Center for Community Practice and team member of the CEI Sexual Health Center of Excellence, checks in live from the conference with four presenters about their experience at the conference, perspectives on what they learned from other sessions, and “need to know” highlights from their own presentations. Join Juhua, along with Rachel Hart-Malloy, PhD, MPH, Brenda Tesini, MD, Michael Brennan, DNP, FNP, and Jeremy Kidd, MD, MPH, for a real-time review of the conference! Related Content:

• STI Dashboard New York: https://www.stidashboardny.org/
• Chemsex: Questions and Answers: https://www.suguidelinesnys.org/guideline/chemsex/
• New York State Department of Health, Healthy Sex campaign: https://campaigns.health.ny.gov/SexualHealth
• University of Rochester Center for Community Practice: www.urccp.org
• CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.
• ceitraining.org

New York drug overdose deaths and death rates are on the decline, but with significant disparities and the current, toxic drug supply is partially to blame. Harmful additives like fentanyl analogues, xylazine and medetomidine, among others, have been found in cocaine, heroin, MDMA and pressed into pills. Additives are undetectable by sight, taste and smell which increases the risk of overdose for people who use and may not be aware of what’s in their drug supply.

This episode features Drs. Sharon Stancliff and Jennifer Love discussing additives commonly found in the New York State supply, including BTMPS, fentanyl analogues, medetomidine, nitazenes and an updates on xylazine. Related Content:

• New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute Clinical Guidelines Program for Substance Use Care: https://www.suguidelinesnys.org/
• New York State Department of Health Drug Checking Program: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/aids/consumers/prevention/oduh/drug_checking.htm
• New York City Department of Health Drug Checking Program: https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/alcohol-and-drug-use-services.page
• New York City Department of Health. Setting Up a Drug-checking Program: A Comprehensive Guide to Implementation. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/basas/drug-checking-program-implementation-guide.pdf
• https://legislativeanalysis.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/BTMPS-Fact-Sheet-FINAL.pdf
• Friedman, JR, et al. (2025) The detection of xylazine in Tijuana, Mexico: Triangulating drug checking and clinical urine testing data. J Addict Med. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000001474
• Krotulski, AJ, et al. (2024) Medetomidine Rapidly Proliferating Across USA — Implicated In Recreational Opioid Drug Supply & Causing Overdose Outbreaks, Center for Forensic Science Research and Education, United States. Available from https://www.cfsre.org/images/content/reports/public_alerts/Public_Alert_Medetomidine_052024.pdf
• New York Medication for Addiction Treatment and Electronic Referrals (MATTERS) Program. Request test strips (for xylazine and fentanyl). Available from: https://mattersnetwork.org/request-test-strips/
• New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS). Harm Reduction Delivered (online order for xylazine and fentanyl test strips). Available from: https://oasas.ny.gov/harm-reduction-delivered
• NEXT Distro. Ordering Supplies (for safer drug use). Available from: https://nextdistro.org/nydistro
• CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.
• ceitraining.org