A new implant containing a drug that reportedly protects against HIV infection for a full year has been developed and tested.
Sponsored Ads
Following clinical tests, the new implant, which is produced by Merck, an American multinational pharmaceutical company, was reported to have the potential to revolutionalize the long-standing battle against the disease.
Sponsored Ads
In the implant is a drug called islatravir which is reported to be 10 times as potent as any previous HIV drug such that tiny amounts are effective and linger in the body for relatively long periods.
LIST OF APPLICATIONS FOR REGULARISATION OF AREA COUNCIL LAND DOCUMENTS NULLIFIED/CANCELLED BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF FCT
When the implant is used, the Islatravir is absorbed into anal and genital tissues where most infections start as the capsule slowly releases tiny doses of the medication.
The company announced the results of a phase 1 trial of the implant on Tuesday, saying it was “well tolerated” and effective at delivering an HIV-preventing medication.
During the drug’s research description at an international AIDS conference held in Mexico City, Anthony Fauci, director at National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a larger trial would, however, be needed for further confirmation.
RELATED STORIES
Related Posts
It has been tested on just 12 people, at two different concentrations. Another four test subjects received a placebo, in an early study designed to assess the safety of the drug and implant. They are years away from being publicly available.
The approach uses a small implant the size of a matchstick, inserted in the upper arm, to slowly release a new medication that appears to block the virus for a year or more.
If it is proven safe and successful in larger studies, the method could be a major improvement for people at high risk of contracting HIV who have trouble adhering to the once-a-day pill regimen and other methods used now.
But the effort has prompted interest because the new drug is potent and the method of releasing it could solve a long-standing problem for people who have trouble with other methods of blocking HIV. In the United States, that is mainly men from minority groups who have sex with other men. Overseas, young women in some African countries where HIV is prevalent also are still being infected at high rates.
In a separate study also released at the conference, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies announced progress in broadening the response produced by a vaccine for a wide range of HIV strains circulating throughout the world.
That study tested a four-vaccine regimen on 152 healthy adults in Kenya, Rwanda and the United States. The vaccine appears to have a long-lasting effect, according to Hanneke Schuitemaker, a Janssen vice president who also spoke at Tuesday’s news conference. The company, part of Johnson & Johnson, plans additional study.
An estimated 75 million people have contracted AIDS since the epidemic began and about 1.7 million people become infected annually despite awareness about the need for condoms and sexual abstinence as preventive measures.
