Game-changing HIV research offers hope for people with HIV and to end AIDS

Shobha Shukla - CNS
Contd from previous issue
Despite formidable challenges to end AIDS by 2030, it is commendable to see the important progress made worldwide towards achieving this goal. For example, 28.2 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy as of 30 June 2021. Another good news is that new antiretroviral medicines are rewriting the script for HIV prevention and treatment.
At the recently concluded 29th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2022) covered by CNS (Citizen News Service), Dr Chloe Orkin, Clinical Professor of HIV Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, shared valuable information about new classes of drugs that are in various stages of clinical development for HIV treatment and prevention. Dr Chloe Orkin led the first phase-III study (clinical trial) of injectable antiretroviral medicines.
Highlights of new HIV treatment options
Antiretroviral therapy has to be taken lifelong by people living with HIV. Missing doses and stopping and re-starting treatment can lead to drug resistance, which can allow HIV to multiply and progress to AIDS disease.
That is why ongoing research and development of long-acting antiretroviral therapy is so vital because then people living with HIV may not have to take oral tablets daily at the same time. (To be contd)