A new “surprisingly free” injection for people living with HIV

“The idea that you don’t have to take these tablets daily is a surprisingly liberating outlook.”

People living with HIV in Wales and the United Kingdom may be offered the first “long-acting injections” to keep the virus away.

Many people living with HIV can keep the virus at very low levels by taking antiretroviral tablets daily.

However, for some, these tablets are daily reminders of the virus, and their visibility can deprive people of their choice of whether to disclose their HIV status.

New medicine, Approved for use with the NHSProvides an alternative to adults who must take antiretroviral drugs daily.

54-year-old Gary Blow from Lonza Canon’s Maddy has lived with HIV for 30 years.

“There is no internal stigma or judgment about HIV, but the idea that you don’t have to take these pills every day is a surprisingly liberal outlook,” he said.

“That’s where people become game changers-suddenly you feel free.”

“We have reached the stage where the virus is not detected in the blood, but when we have to take those tablets, it is detectable daily in our lives.

“That’s a breakthrough that this represents, moving to a more free life with HIV.”

An estimated 13,000 people will be eligible for injection treatment in the United Kingdom alone. This means that you don’t need daily treatment, but you get two injections every two months.

This means that they can reduce the number of days they receive treatment from 365 to 6 days a year.

Injections have already been approved for use and are available to people in the United States.

Gary was diagnosed with the virus in 1991 at the age of 23. At that time, he was said to live for about five years.

He had been tested every year for several years before his diagnosis. “He felt it was right and knowledge was power.”

“It was a shock to be diagnosed,” he continued.

“But when I had a sexual relationship as a gay man in the 80’s, I felt a bit like Russian roulette. It was scary.

“I had no level of self-judgment other than the frustration that it happened and the frustration that I was able to make it happen and that I could have made a mistake.”

Gary developed AIDS, was diagnosed with HIV-related cancer at the age of 27, and started chemotherapy.

Nevertheless, he started treating HIV on his 30th birthday.

“I didn’t think that I was 30 years old, but I think there was a part that I felt was a magnificent gesture. Then, I didn’t really expect it, so I started a virtually new life at 30 years old. It was the time after that. “

He said he found the prospect of survival difficult. “The hardest thing to adapt was the possibility that I would live again.

“I was guilty of being given this opportunity. I’m hearing about the complex feelings of the Survivor Guilt and many around me when I wasn’t given a lifeline.

“The challenge is to suddenly face the trait of not knowing what it is, how long it is, and how well it is, because it is a mental challenge to feel that it can all be robbed again. The momentary notification was very high. “

Gary’s treatment began with a complex routine of three different drugs.

“One of the medicines had to be taken exactly every 8 hours on an empty stomach, and the other two had to be taken with food,” he explained.

“That is, I had to use the alarm clock of my digital clock to receive treatment five times a day at various intervals throughout the day.

“It was what kept me alive and it was a complicated routine. Like all other complementary therapies, vitamins, minerals and all the supplements I took, I got there. It was kept in good condition. And many tablets. “

After several years of trying various treatments, some have had serious side effects on him, but Gary is currently taking two tablets daily to control the virus.

This is manageable for him and his lifestyle and he is open about his HIV status, but for many people daily dosing presents a challenge.

“For example, someone working for an airline is flying here and there, everywhere,” he explained.

“There are different time zones, and their work schedules can conflict with their treatment schedules, and how to manage such timings is very important.

“It’s also difficult for young people who go to college, for example. They have to think about how to manage the treatment. Whether to take it with breakfast, dinner, still with food. Some people need to do it.

“So the challenge is that I haven’t told people that I’m living with HIV, so I have to get treatment somewhere without being seen.”

“I think what this does is to turn the possibility of living with HIV into just living.

“We’re not entirely there when it comes to treatments and vaccines, but what’s currently being injected every two months is really a true game changer.

“It moves it to a kind of weird stage where you don’t have to think about HIV on a daily basis, so it’s transformative in many ways.”

According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), clinical trial results show that injectables are as effective as oral antiretroviral drugs and can keep viral load low.

“Low knowledge of HIV and high judgment”

Meindert Boysen, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NICE, said:

“But for some people, it’s difficult to have to take a daily multi-tablet regimen because of drug-related side effects, toxicity, and other psychosocial issues such as stigma and lifestyle changes. There may be cases.

“Therefore, we are pleased to recommend cabotegravir, which contains rilpivirine, as a valuable treatment option for those who are already well-adhered to daily tablets but may prefer an infrequently administered injection regimen.”

Jean van Wyk, Viiv’s Global Medical Lead, said:

“It is exacerbated by the fact that people may have a tablet while traveling, or that they may find it in their home when they have a visitor.

“So, for those who are afraid, this remedy brings new innovations, new choices that they don’t have to have pills every day.”

Debbie Laycock, Head of Policy at Terrence Higgins Trust, described the innovation as “incredible news.”

“Tablet fatigue is also a problem for some people living with HIV who are suffering from the idea of ​​taking antiretroviral drugs daily,” she said.

“Long-acting injection treatment is also a better option for people who have difficulty swallowing the drug. Therefore, laboratory approval provides additional treatment options that are welcomed by people living with HIV in England and Wales. To do.”

She added that it is a major step forward in her commitment to ending the new HIV infection by 2030.