A panel of US health experts has for the first time backed a drug to prevent HIV infection in healthy people.
5 k* ^1 a% Z/ _The panel recommended US regulators approve the daily pill, Truvada, for use by people considered at high risk of contracting the Aids virus., A/ P7 r1 H/ q
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not required to follow the panel's advice, but it usually does.4 A+ }% U7 v- }6 S
Some health workers and groups active in the HIV community have opposed the approval of the drug.
) U) D6 u) m! x$ o) P+ lHowever, correspondents say the move could prove to be a new milestone in the fight against HIV/Aids., N- t- c; Y# K: J$ z# H
Truvada is already approved by the FDA for people who are HIV-positive, and is taken along with existing anti-retroviral drugs.2 Q& }& \6 q$ L/ P; q$ f4 U
Studies from 2010 showed that Truvada, made by California-based Gilead Sciences, reduced the risk of HIV in healthy gay men - and among HIV-negative heterosexual partners of people who are HIV positive - by between 44% and 73%.8 W: b7 V6 g& X& f3 R4 p& H
June decision
/ T& n/ d7 O g- S1 aThe Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee, which advises the FDA, voted 19-3 in favour of prescribing the drug to the highest risk group - non-infected men who have sex with multiple male partners.
K! x! y( Y. UThey also approved it, by majority votes, for uninfected people with HIV-positive partners and for other groups considered at risk of acquiring HIV through sexual activity.
5 u( y. M9 F- \( {4 u) M* k8 D, Q& bThe votes followed an 11-hour meeting of the panel in Silver Spring, Maryland, and a lengthy public comments session.' j# W. t9 D2 Q, Z( q% d5 B; z
Opposition to the prospect of approving the drug is based on concerns that users could gain a false sense of security, and fears of a drug-resistant strain of HIV.* U \5 u' Q! N# {/ w7 k) C
There is also concern that the high cost of Truvada could divert limited funding from more cost-effective options.9 R/ V, L% Q* W7 Q8 }/ K- P
"We need to slow down. I care too much about my community not to speak my concerns," said Joey Terrill, of the Aids Healthcare Foundation, which campaigned against the drug's approval.$ d; ^# |& G: P
Nurse Karen Haughey told the panel: "Truvada needs to be taken every day, 100% of the time, and my experience as a registered nurse tells me that won't happen.
# x4 Y0 P* V9 T7 Z# A; ]"In my eight years, not one patient that I've cared for has been 100% adherent."1 y( }/ t e. @2 y
But others welcomed the panel's recommendation.
2 }/ k# \' c$ B5 G: [. e# Q"This brings us closer to a watershed for global HIV prevention efforts," said Mitchell Warren, executive director of the Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, after the vote.0 w$ b& r6 J& b1 P6 ? i, p
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