Kenya starts injectable HIV drug test
Kenya has administered injectable HIV treatment to its first patient three months after the United Kingdom approved it.
After enrolling in research at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, an unknown patient became the first in Kenya to get antiretroviral medication (ART) on March 31.
The therapy is a combination of two additional drugs (cabotenegravir and rilpivirine) that is given as an injection every two months to treat HIV-1 infection in select persons.
Since its discovery in the early 1980s, scientists have worked to improve the effectiveness of HIV treatment by mixing medications, offering the world a three-drug course.
However, current regiments (most HIV drug regimen consist of three different drugs taken orally daily) frequently result in inside effects as well as pill burden from taking too many of them.
According to the Ministry of Health, the number of people living with HIV who are on life-saving treatment has increased from 600,000 in 2013 to 1.2 million in 2021.
Following that, attempts have been made to lower the number of tablets taken each day, the number of medications used in combination to reduce pill load, and the adverse effects associated with existing ARTs.
“Successful treatment of HIV leads to control of viral multiplication, this success relies on people taking their drugs regularly.
The way someone takes their drugs may depend on several factors that include the number of drugs taken the ease of swallowing them, the number of times they are taken, their taste, as well as the associated side effects, among other factors,” said Reena Shah an infectious disease expert at the Aga Khan University Hospital and principal investigator of the study.
The first injectable ART, Apretude (cabotegravir extended-release injectable suspension), was licensed in the United States last year for use in at-risk adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kilograms for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to lower the risk of sexually acquired HIV.
The jab is given as an injection once every six months.
The UK also approved Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine, an injectable medicine that requires patients to have an injection every other month rather than the existing daily tablet regimen.
