Anti-Viral Injections Show Promise Against HIV

Seeking to make HIV treatment less dependent on adhering to a daily dosing regimen, researchers have found that an injection of anti-viral medications every two months is just as effective. Pink News reports:

The trial backed by Johnson & Johnson as well as GlaxoSmithKlein, tested whether an injected drug taken once every eight weeks could effectively suppress HIV. The head of J&J’s pharmaceuticals Paul Stoffels, said the drug could prove to be “transformational” in the way HIV is treated. Saying he thought the combination could be on the market within five years, he said the results of the trial would need to be confirmed in larger final-stage trials. The combination of rilpivirine from J&J and cabotegravir from GSK, kept the HIV virus suppressed to minimal levels, just as well as taking three pills daily. It was tested with doses both monthly and every two months. Those receiving the injection every month had a viral suppression of 94% after 32 weeks, and those every two months had a suppression rate of 95%. In comparison, those on tablets had a suppression rate of 91%.