Discussion: FDA approves HIV prevention pill

ALA

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle...NOK/story.html

Quote:

The medication, Truvada, is the first drug shown to protect people from becoming *infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. It is already used to treat HIV-positive *patients.

“New prevention methods are needed in order to have a major impact on the HIV epidemic in this country,” Dr. Debra Birnkrant, director of the division of antiviral products at the FDA, said during a press conference.

Truvada may cost at least $13,900 a year for treatment in the United States.

She said the overall rate of new infections has remained stable, but “we continue to see about 50,000 adults and adolescents diagnosed with new HIV infections each year. *Infection rates among men who have sex with men, particularly among young minority men, have increased significantly.”

Truvada is intended for adults at high risk of contracting HIV, which include sexually active gay men and healthy partners of HIV-infected individuals, whether heterosexual or homosexual.

The FDA decision is supported by several clinical studies, including the one conducted at the Fenway Institute and other sites around the world. The study followed 2,499 HIV-negative men and transgender women who had sex with men, including some who were infected with HIV. After an average of two years, those who were assigned to take Truvada daily — although many failed to follow the daily regimen — had a 44 percent lower risk of acquiring HIV than participants given a placebo.

“Getting people to take pills on a daily basis — people who are healthy — is the challenge,” said Mayer, who was the principal investigator of the Fenway research project.

Birnkrant echoed that concern, saying adherence to the daily regimen was low, around 30 percent.

If participants stuck with the regimen and had high levels of the drug in their blood, Mayer said, they were less likely to get HIV, with protection rates approaching 90 percent.

Interesting... That's insanely expensive though.

Cas

I'm confident that the price will go down in the next few years.

Midnight

Like lots of us just have $13,900 dollars just strewn about the house.

But this is big. More protection is always welcome.

Big Smoke

*burns condoms*

EDIT: wait 14k? *reclaims condom ashes*

.aR

Will there be any side effects? I'm sure there would be since we'll have to be taking it everyday...

QueenB

Obama better be paying for these pills, because I sure as hell wont be

.aR

Quote:

Originally posted by Big Smoke

*burns condoms*

You'll only have a 44% protection

Midnight

Quote:

Originally posted by .aR

Will there be any side effects? I'm sure there would be since we'll have to be taking it everyday...

If tufts of hair start falling out....

ALA

Quote:

Originally posted by .aR

You'll only have a 44% protection

The article said that percentage is because in the study many failed to take it daily, and that the pill has a 90% protection rate.

J a y

If this is available in the UK, it may be given out free from the NHS and rentboys in particular will benefit from this.

MP2K

Prevention pill?

Yeah... um, I'll stick to being smart and using a condom properly. Waste of time and money.

MusicLoverDude

I'll stick to using condoms, thank you very much. And...I'm just gonna wait to have sex with a guy I'm dating.

Akil

Quote:

Originally posted by Midnight

If tufts of hair start falling out....

Benjamin

Not then giving a placebo to some guys and making them think they're unlikely to catch HIV though, probably resulting in a few catching it. That has my luck written all over it.

I want to know how the experiment worked though, how'd they know the ones who didn't get HIV at the end of the 2 years even had sex with someone who had HIV during that period? Maybe all the guys who caught it had sex with a HIV positive guy, and the other people didn't have sex with one...

Bit dangerous if they encouraged these people to 'get it on' with a HIV positive person.

Cas

Quote:

Originally posted by Big Smoke

*burns condoms*

Good luck living a good life with gonorrhea and hepatitis c.

Navyboy20

Sign me up for a lifetime supply. I feel like I spend 13k a year on condoms already.

Maiko

Chrome

Quote:

Originally posted by .aR

Will there be any side effects? I'm sure there would be since we'll have to be taking it everyday...

Your manhood will fall off.

ABEL-o-matic

I think this was AP a few months ago.

Hooligan

Mess. I will just stick to more traditional and practical means rather a pill I'm sure would cause more harm than good. But hey, if you want to have sex without a condom and contract HIV in process, this pill is for you.