The Guardian Weekly

New injections could replace burden of taking daily pills

Thousands of people living with HIV in Britain are to be freed from the burden of taking daily pills.

Draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommends offering treatment by injection every two months of the antiretroviral drugs cabotegravir and rilpivirine in England and Wales after trials proved they work as effectively as daily tablets.

Although HIV is still incurable, researchers found that patients who had the new treatment could reach a point where the virus particles in their blood (the viral load) were so low those particles could not be detected or transmitted between people. Debbie Laycock, head of policy at Terrence Higgins Trust, described the breakthrough as “incredible news”.

Global Report

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2021-11-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://theguardianweekly.pressreader.com/article/281779927389664

Guardian/Observer