An injection every four to eight weeks could replace current HIV treatments by 2020 according to the worldwide chairman of pharmaceuticals at Johnson & Johnson.
The injection which is a combination of two long-acting HIV medicines (rilpivirine and cabotegravir) injected every four to eight weeks have proven to been just as effective at suppressing the AIDS-causing virus as the current daily oral regimen of three HIV medicines in phase 2 clinical trials.
The clinical trials have shown that at week 32, the viral suppression rates for patients dosed via injection, every eight or four weeks were 95% and 94% respectively. While comparatively the suppression rates for patients who continued with the current three-drug oral regimen showed a viral suppression rate of 91%.
MD chief scientific officer and worldwide chairman pharmaceuticals at Johnson & Johnson, Paul Stoffels says that if these results can be replicated in larger final-stage clinical trials, the “transformational” new, more simple treatment could be available by 2020.
“Despite great progress in HIV treatments, the burden of treating HIV patients remains high. Long-acting injectable drug formulations may offer another option for HIV maintenance therapy,” explained Stoffels.
“Our hope in studying such combinations is to make HIV infection manageable with a potentially transformational all injectable regimen.”
Provided the new treatment can be successfully developed and is approved by regulators, people living with HIV who are virologically suppressed could be offered an alternative option and greater choice in their treatments in the future.
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