American immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci doesn't usually get too excited about the results of animal studies, and he doesn't make house calls. However, recently, it was found that the attention of the director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has been caught when a drug that has already been taken by thousands of people for intestinal conditions has seemingly appeared to control the monkey version of HIV.
Monkeys: Could They Be The Key For HIV Cure?
According to Daily Mail, it was found that the director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has personally praise Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co's U.S. representatives that their drug may offer a dramatic advance in the fight against AIDS. Takeda's innovative drug has allegedly suppressed the virus to undetectable levels in eight monkeys, some for two years.
Experts say that the drug is one of several promising ideas which is heading into early-stage human trials, all of which are known to be seeking to help patients control the virus that causes AIDS for extended periods without daily antiretroviral therapy (ART). Executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition adds that there has been this explosion of discovery as it has been previously been perceived as something that's impossible to conceive.
Furthermore, The Daily Star reports that if ART would be taken on a daily basis, it is more likely to suppress the virus. But keeping up a daily medication regimen is difficult. The drugs are expensive and toxic, causing nausea, fatigue and nerve problems in the short term, and insulin resistance and other problems over time. Dr. Nelson Michael, director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute has claimed that on its own, the vaccine had a modest effect and could potentially become even more effective when it was given with GS-986, a so-called TLR-7 agonist that has the ability to kick the immune system up to a higher gear.
Ultimately, Dr. Paul Stoffels, J&J's chief scientific officer has revealed that they are set to conduct human trials within months. He adds that if the cure is there, the industry will find a way to get there very quickly.
