After countless years of study, scientists announced on Tuesday that cure for the disease has become a reality as trial for HIV prevention drug, Truvada, received approval in England.
NHS England, an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department of Health, specifically confirmed that it would fund HIV prevention programme based around pre-exposure prophlyaxis (PrEP) with Gilead’s Truvada.
The announcement follows months of legal wrangling after NHS England axed plans for a national PreP programme, but was last month forced to reconsider after a court challenge from campaigners.
Truvada (emtricitabine+tenofovir) has been shown to have a protective effect, and can in some cases stop HIV becoming established in the body.
More than 10,000 people, most at risk of acquiring HIV will be offered a drug which prevents transmission of HIV after health officials lost a Court of Appeal battle over funding, an online report said on Tuesday.
The report said: “After many years of studies and finding a cure, a drug has been discovered and will be given to the patients by NHS England.
“It is said to have trials on over 10,000 people, most at risk of acquiring HIV. It will also serve as a way for them to figure out the duration in taking the drug, for them to get the right people and how popular it would be.”
Pre-exposure prophylaxis or PreP is a medicine that should be taken daily which helps in reducing HIV. Apart from saving money, it also helps to stop the infection from spreading in the body. It reduces the high risk of getting the disease from sex and can be lower with the use of condoms and methods for prevention.
The drugs – called PreP – have been described as a ‘game changer’ in the fight against AIDS but dubbed ‘promiscuity pills’ by critics, the report said.
Last month, the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court ruling which said NHS England did have the power to fund the drug despite its pleas that the responsibility lay with local authorities.
Now, the organisation has announced it will fund “a large scale clinical trial” for the drug, also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, at a cost of up to £10 million.”
So far, studies suggest the anti-retroviral drug, also known as Truvada, can reduce the risk of infection by more than 90 percent.
Health officials said the large trial was needed to work out the best way to ensure take-up of the drug, examine the impact on HIV levels – and whether it increased rates of other sexually transmitted infections.
HIV/AIDS are first observed in the United States in the year 1981. The usual cases are from injection drug users, gay men with no known cause of impaired immunity, which shows symptoms of a rare opportunistic infection that occurs in a much compromised immune system.
Most of the people carrying the disease are not aware that they are infected with the virus. Sexual intercourse is the usual reason and the mode in transmitting HIV. It is present in the seminal fluid which is passed from male to female.
There are two types of HIV, HIV-1, and HIV-2. The first one is very infective that causes the majority of the infections globally. Studies show that HIV-2 is considered as the less infective one.
Dr Jonathan Fielden, deputy national medical director at NHS England, said the new HIV prevention trial had “in part, been made possible by the willingness of many pharmaceutical and device companies to come forward with lower and more responsible prices.”
“We have however, had to make some tough decisions over what we are not able to fund at this point in time within the resources we have available,” he said, saying the drugs would be considered again next year.
NHS England has agreed to fund 10 new specialist treatments for rare diseases, as well as the HIV prevention programme.
According to the chairman of NHS England’s Group, Dr. Ian Williams, “This announcement demonstrates NHS England’s commitment to fund Prep and provides the chance to best prepare England for optimal roll-out following this large-scale clinical trial.”
This is another big step in the history of medicine and in fighting HIV.
Read more at Independent Newspapers
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