Gerald Muwonge has been carrying around vials of pills for his daily treatment regimen since he was diagnosed with HIV eight years ago, trying to avoid the stigma that could come with it in Uganda.
But he believes that will change soon, thanks to an injectable treatment that only needs to be used every two months.
Around 200 patients in the east African country began a trial of a World Health Organization-approved injection containing the drugs cabotegravir, or CAB-LA, and rilpivirine in October of last year. The results are expected in 2024.
The treatment, developed by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, is the first non-pill option for HIV treatment, and studies have shown that it outperforms the efficacy of oral pills.
The GSK treatment was approved in the United States late last year and was endorsed by the World Health Organization this year.
GSK agreed in July to allow low-cost generic versions to be used in developing countries, but the first generics may not be available until 2026 due to regulatory requirements for manufacture and use.
In the meantime, GSK stated that it was working on providing governments with the regimen for free in order to conduct studies. Kenya and South Africa are also holding trials.
According to William Tamale, manager of Uganda’s Joint Clinical Research Centre’s injectable antiretroviral treatment programme, the drugs are “very promising.”
The JCRC was chosen to manage the injectable drug trial, and Tamale is in charge of that programme in Uganda, where at least 1.4 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS.
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