A panel of US health experts has for the first time backed a drug to prevent HIV infection in healthy people.& h( u% H6 b2 f) d5 U$ ]* N
The panel recommended US regulators approve the daily pill, Truvada, for use by people considered at high risk of contracting the Aids virus.# z# f- l( g' |! y4 z) n3 |: D
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not required to follow the panel's advice, but it usually does.7 Y. ^0 M; e3 X2 g( O- m
Some health workers and groups active in the HIV community have opposed the approval of the drug.) a% Q1 h R2 c3 S( r2 V: v
However, correspondents say the move could prove to be a new milestone in the fight against HIV/Aids.6 S$ w' E5 O. S, k3 R
Truvada is already approved by the FDA for people who are HIV-positive, and is taken along with existing anti-retroviral drugs.$ @* i+ A; Q/ T2 }
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%.0 P5 r U' \8 r% r
June decision
7 \2 Q2 l" Q9 I& y, B$ B, ]9 g' ?The 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.8 _9 P1 d2 y3 r5 ]& [
They 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.+ O4 Q& ?5 K5 @ w. h( k% k
The votes followed an 11-hour meeting of the panel in Silver Spring, Maryland, and a lengthy public comments session.
d" Z' t5 K4 [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.( R/ n5 W6 w! V7 z; ?
There is also concern that the high cost of Truvada could divert limited funding from more cost-effective options., A3 }6 ?4 Z! p5 a! t$ _
"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.! x7 d' x+ \& P6 |5 J( I" a* ~
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. 1 R0 g; j8 |4 W0 A
"In my eight years, not one patient that I've cared for has been 100% adherent."" u/ r6 R, d3 U1 o6 P' ?* w
But others welcomed the panel's recommendation.
+ N0 h& H: u. d"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.
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