A number of people have been reported to be looking forward as China's national drug authority has announced that the examined clinical research results on a domestically produced anti-HIV drug is in its final phase prior to officially approving the drug.
Is This 'Injection' Finally The Answer To HIV?
According to Global Times, it was found that once the drug named as Albuvirtide has already been approved, experts perceive it as the world's first long-acting injection for HIV treatment. Developed by the Nanjing-based Frontier Biotechnologies Inc, the medicine is known to have the ability to block fusion of the viral and host cell membranes, which in turn, disrupts the HIV life cycle in its earliest stage.
The wonder drug has allegedly been put into phase-3 clinical trials in 12 clinical centers across the country since February 2014. However, authorities have explained that different from traditional oral drugs that require daily use, Albuvirtide is an injection solution that can be administered weekly.
In one of his statements reported by ECNS, Zhao Yan, a treatment specialist at the National Center for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Disease Control and Prevention, has revealed that currently, almost seven or eight oral drugs for AIDS are currently provided to patients for free. She further explains that if it could be included in the country's health insurance system, the drug, in a form of injection solution can actually be considered as an alternative to patients
On the other hand, experts have revealed that the current cocktail therapy widely used in HIV treatments can only bring the HIV virus under temporary control but cannot cure the disease. As of the present time, it was found that a number of long-acting AIDS drug are in development across the globe. However, none of them has reportedly been approved for sale. Experts have highly emphasized that only Albuvirtide and a few in the United States have entered phase three of clinical trials.
