“For each typical company, it needs great healthy demand to ensure it’s worth their time,” says Bekker. “We all want government. [across sub-Saharan Africa] Although I write about general products in future budgets, in reality, for the tentative purposes, we were dependent on donor funds. Even my country, South Africa, has good GDP and funds 80% of the HIV reaction, but already buys antiretroviruses with 6 million individuals a year. I think it will take several years before we can mobilize money for the Renakapaville. ”
Pepfar now appears to be focused primarily on treating existing patients. At the expense of prevention, clinicians like Nomathemba Chandiwana, a physician scientist at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation in South Africa, are concerned that infection rates will begin to rise. Autumn has a significant public health impact on the African continent and beyond.
At the NCD Alliance Forum in Kigali last week, Chandiwana explained that the outcome of the new infection is not related to HIV itself. Research has shown that even people controlled by antiretroviral therapy are at a higher risk for people with long-term HIV infection to develop metabolic conditions such as hypertension, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, and that are already increasing. It is increasingly shown that there is a high risk of burdens being created. Sub-Saharan Africa. “HIV itself, like many antiretroviral agents, destroys metabolism,” says Chandiwana. “We see the same chronic disease in people living with HIV, just like we do in the general population, but we are getting older and accelerated.”
For this reason, a new generation of HIV treatment is also needed, and one concept being investigated was the use of lenacapavir as the basis for future combination therapy for people already with the virus. It was hoped not only would potentially reduce some of the metabolic side effects, but this would lead to treatment protocols that would not require HIV-infected individuals to take daily medications.
“There are a lot of different ideas being discussed,” says Bekker. “Can I combine 2nd-type cabotegravir with 6-month renacapavir injections? [as a form of viral suppression]so you only come six times a year for treatment, and is it all injectable? The work has weekly antiretroviral pills, but do you have an antiretroviral drug that can be injected for six months? This can be very liberating as people always say how accusing it is to have to take daily medication. ”
But as Bekker says it is expected to be funded by US resources, many of these studies are currently questionable. “It’s not just pepfahl, and I’m also worried about restrictions on other types of research funding, such as the National Institutes of Health,” she says. “It’s going to be difficult to innovate and advance progress.”
Ngure says that while other donors will emerge that can support the global fund in the procurement of Renacapaville, Bekker seeks new options to fund HIV prevention and research through European institutions They say they are doing it. Japan and Australia. At the same time, she believes that events from last month indicate that African countries need to be able to fund more preventive efforts.
“For some reason, Africa needs to step up and contribute to the fight,” she says. “I think that’s a big problem. Also, the amount of continents that can contribute on the continent could not necessarily cover a lot of research and development, but we’ll need to do so in the future. ”
At the same time, she fears that if the same resources don’t come from the US, the unique opportunities offered by Renacapaville could be lost.
“It’s incredible that this happened just like there was a breakthrough,” she says. “I think this will put us backwards for years, but in the end, it costs more money on public health spending. Ultimately, if we can get more control over this epidemic. , in the long run, it will save more money and lives on the planet.”
