New drug adds to arsenal against Aids

Rilpivirineis both safe and effective and it is said that its side effects are fewer and less severe.

PARIS:

A new drug, Rilpivirine, can add to the combination of medications used to control HIV for first-time patients, researchers conclude in the latest issue of The Lancet.

Rilpivirine, marketed by pharmaceutical firm Tibotec under the brand name of Edurant, is both safe and effective and it is said that its side effects are fewer and less severe compared with the widely-used Favirenz or Sustiva.

Combination therapy for new HIV patients commonly entails giving either Efavirenz or Nevirapine in conjunction with drugs of a separate class in order to attack the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from different angles. Efavirenz and Nevirapine are equally effective at suppressing HIV but can cause severe side effects, which is why there has been a search for a substitute drug in their class.

Rilpivirine, a so-called second generation antiretroviral, was approved for combination therapy in May by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (Aids) has claimed some 30 million lives since the first recorded cases emerged in June 1981. At least 33 million people are living with HIV, according to UN estimates for 2009. According to an article published in this newspaper in February, the prevalence of HIV/Aids has steadily risen in the past decade among vulnerable groups such as sex workers and drug users in Pakistan. Dr Sajid Ahmad of the National Aids Control Programme confirmed that currently, there are an estimated 97,400 people living with HIV in Pakistan, among whom only 4,112 are registered with the government, while only 1,852 people of the registered individuals are receiving antiretroviral treatment. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2011.