Kisumu-Tested Drug to Prevent HIV Approved in the Us

[ad_1]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a drug tested in Kenya for the prevention of HIV.

The drug, Apretude or Cabotegravir, which is taken after every two months through an injection in the butt is the first ever long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) approved in the world considering that the initial PrEP was taken twice, before and after sex.

“Today’s approval adds an important tool in the effort to end the HIV epidemic by providing the first option to prevent HIV that does not involve taking a daily pill,” said Debra Birnkrant, director of the division of antivirals at FDA, in a press statement.

For starters, the drug is injected once a month for two months before they begin a cycle of taking an injection two months apart.

In an interview with a local publication, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) research officer Prof Elizabeth Bukusi stated that the cost of injection is yet to be determined.

“Viiv healthcare (the manufacturer), has so far not specified or estimated the cost of the injection per dose, an omission that makes it difficult for advocates to mobilize demand for this new strategy,” she said.

However, she opined that the manufacturer should consider lowering its cost in order to counter the spread of HIV among the world’s population.

“A recent cost-effectiveness analysis presented at the 2021 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections shows that the injection must be priced in the range of generic daily pills to be considered cost-effective in comparison to oral PrEP. Various advocacy groups are involved in advocating for affordability by lower and middle-income countries,” Prof Bukusi said.

She noted that the current PrEP pills cost Ksh20,000 a year but are free at Kenyan medical facilities but their uptake is low due to stigmatization that goes along with HIV.

This approval comes after two extensive research done in Kisumu, Kenya and another done partly in Kenya, Eswatini, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The post Kisumu-Tested Drug to Prevent HIV Approved in the Us appeared first on LitKenya.

[ad_2]

Source link