Demonstrators march through the streets of Toronto, urging the
international community to make Aids drugs available to all. PHOTO FILE |
AFP
Kenya has become the first African country to introduce the generic version of the new first-line drug Dolutegravir (DTG) for people living with HIV.
Kenya
and Unitaid (global health initiative working with partners to end
world’s tuberculosis, HIV/Aids and malaria epidemic) announced the
rollout of the drug, which has been in use in the past two years in
high-income countries.
DTG has few side effects, is easier to ingest (one tablet daily), and patients are less likely to develop resistance.
In
2015, the WHO recommended Dolutegravir as an alternative first-line
drug for adults and adolescents. But, until recently, people living with
HIV in countries like Kenya were unable to access it.
A
single pill will substitute either nevirapine or efavirenz singles,
without increasing the pill burden. Additionally, patients can be easily
transitioned to a triple fixed-dose combination once it becomes
available.
“New regimens, including Dolutegravir, offer
potential for better and less costly HIV treatment. Through this work,
we are reducing the time it takes for people living with HIV in
countries like Kenya to access the latest ARVs on the market.
"These are important developments as we move towards HIV
treatment for all those that need it,” said Lelio Marmora, Unitaid
executive director.
“This project will improve the
lives of Kenyans living with HIV, build health care workers’ experience,
and generate the evidence needed to introduce DTG on a larger scale by
early next year,” said Jackson Kioko, director of medical services in
Kenya’s Ministry of Health.
The ministry will
initially provide DTG to 27,000 people living with HIV who are unable to
tolerate the side effects of efavirenz, the first-line HIV drug
currently in use in Kenya.
The new drug will be
introduced in select health facilities across the country and made
widely available nationwide later in the year.
Simplify treatment
Numerous
phase 3 clinical trials have shown that DTG is superior to all other
first-line treatments, and in 2016, Kenya included the drug in its
antiretroviral therapy guidelines.
Nigeria and Uganda
will introduce Dolutegravir later this year, laying the groundwork for
accelerating uptake of the three-in-one fixed dose combination that will
be made available by 2018.
Such
combination, which will include tenofovir, lamivudine and DTG, is
expected to simplify treatment for people living with HIV.
More
than 18 million people are on lifelong HIV treatment worldwide, but an
almost equal number do not have access to treatment yet. In Kenya,
approximately 1.5 million people live with HIV, but just over one
million are currently on ARVs.
Unitaid is investing $67
million to address this need in order to avoid delays of more than 10
years before new drugs can be introduced in low- and middle-income
countries.
This
intervention is also an opportunity to test Dolutegravir’s use in
routine treatment for the first time and prepare national distribution
channels.
“Unitaid is pioneering the introduction of
simpler, more affordable optimal HIV treatments and ensuring they are
available sooner for those in need, so countries and partners like the
US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) and the Global
Fund can bring them to scale,” said Mr Marmora.
WHO,
partnering with the Global Fund, Pepfar, ministries of Health, civil
society and the Clinton Health Access Initiative is expected to save
$1.6 billion in treatment costs through 2024 – enough to provide access
to medicines for an additional 3.2 million people for five years.
“This
is the first step in ensuring access to better quality and more
effective ARV therapy to improve the quality of life of people living
with HIV,” said Kenly Sikwese, co-ordinator of the African Community
Advisory Board.
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