Dr. Annette Sohn Could a slow-release weekly pill for HIV make it easier to stay on treatment? Many researchers think it might.
Commenting in an article in HealthDay News, Dr. Annette Sohn, Director of amfAR’s TREAT Asia program, says, “Taking one or more pills every day for life is a difficult commitment for anyone with a chronic disease, but is much harder for those living with HIV, due to the stigma associated with infection, and the fear of having to explain to others why you are taking these pills.”
The HealthDay News article describes a study led by Dr. Giovanni Traverso of MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, who with his colleagues used a star-shaped capsule to deliver a weekly dosage of HIV medicine to infected pigs. The capsule released a daily dosage of HIV medicine each day of the week, and was successful in both keeping HIV under control and preventing new infections. The study was published in the January 9, 2018, issue of Nature Communications.
“While these are early data, they demonstrate the potential for harnessing technology in innovative ways to simplify HIV treatment,” said Dr. Sohn.
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