HIV drugs give new hope
Dec 04, 2010
TWO anti-HIV drugs, which have been on trial across 11 sites in six countries, have reduced the risk of HIV infection by almost 44%.
By Hilary Bainemigisha
TWO anti-HIV drugs, which have been on trial across 11 sites in six countries, have reduced the risk of HIV infection by almost 44%.
The big international trial showed that taking two proven ARVs, Tenofovir and Emtricitabine (Truvada) before sex reduced the risk of contracting HIV in men who have sex with men, by 43.8%.
And for the men who took the drugs as prescribed, the risk was reduced even further. Volunteers who took at least 90% of their doses, reduced the risk of HIV infection by 73%.
The trials, which started in 2007, were done in Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, South Africa, Thailand and the United States, among homosexuals.
It was the first large efficacy study to evaluate taking ARVs before sex (pre-exposure prophylaxis - PrEP) in men who have sex with men in Africa, Asia and North and South America.
The Phase III study, called iPrEx, involved 2,500 HIV-negative gay men in nine different cities.
By the end of the three-year trial, there were 36 infections in participants who received the drug and 64 in the men who were not taking the real drug.
This translates into an average 43.8% reduction in overall HIV risk. None of the volunteers, who became infected with HIV, had resistance to Truvada.
The research world is thrilled. It is the first PrEP effectiveness trial to report results. Other studies are ongoing in a range of populations around the world.
In Uganda, trials of a similar drug combination are going on in Kampala, Kabwohe, Mbale and Tororo. According to Dr. Patrick Ndase, who is coordinating the drug trial, the first results should be out in 2012.
“Overall, we aimed at enrolling 3,900 discordant couples on a volunteer basis and follow them up for a planned period of four years,†he said.
Although results are not ready, researchers said they were hopeful for a good result because an independent board that monitors the study every six months, had not stopped it.
If successful, PrEP will help discordant couples, where one person is HIV positive and the other is negative, to produce children without spreading the infection.
TWO anti-HIV drugs, which have been on trial across 11 sites in six countries, have reduced the risk of HIV infection by almost 44%.
The big international trial showed that taking two proven ARVs, Tenofovir and Emtricitabine (Truvada) before sex reduced the risk of contracting HIV in men who have sex with men, by 43.8%.
And for the men who took the drugs as prescribed, the risk was reduced even further. Volunteers who took at least 90% of their doses, reduced the risk of HIV infection by 73%.
The trials, which started in 2007, were done in Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, South Africa, Thailand and the United States, among homosexuals.
It was the first large efficacy study to evaluate taking ARVs before sex (pre-exposure prophylaxis - PrEP) in men who have sex with men in Africa, Asia and North and South America.
The Phase III study, called iPrEx, involved 2,500 HIV-negative gay men in nine different cities.
By the end of the three-year trial, there were 36 infections in participants who received the drug and 64 in the men who were not taking the real drug.
This translates into an average 43.8% reduction in overall HIV risk. None of the volunteers, who became infected with HIV, had resistance to Truvada.
The research world is thrilled. It is the first PrEP effectiveness trial to report results. Other studies are ongoing in a range of populations around the world.
In Uganda, trials of a similar drug combination are going on in Kampala, Kabwohe, Mbale and Tororo. According to Dr. Patrick Ndase, who is coordinating the drug trial, the first results should be out in 2012.
“Overall, we aimed at enrolling 3,900 discordant couples on a volunteer basis and follow them up for a planned period of four years,†he said.
Although results are not ready, researchers said they were hopeful for a good result because an independent board that monitors the study every six months, had not stopped it.
If successful, PrEP will help discordant couples, where one person is HIV positive and the other is negative, to produce children without spreading the infection.