ICASA conference: a new retroviral drug for HIV-positive children - RFI

By RFPosted on 02-12-2019Modified on 02-12-2019 at 18:28

The Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), which runs until 7 December in Kigali, Rwanda, addresses the issue of child-friendly treatment.

The number of children newly infected with HIV has fallen sharply. It has increased from 240,000 in 2010 to 160,000 in 2018, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.

This result was achieved by putting a large proportion (82%) of HIV-positive pregnant women on antiretroviral therapy. Still today, 1.8 million children are living with HIV and a treatment that is truly adapted to their needs is missing.

Kids living with #HIV have been neglected for too long. With Quadrimune, the "4-in-1" treatment we're developing with @CIPLA_Global, infants & young kids will definitely have a treatment designed specifically for them.

Price will be $ 1 a day or less https://t.co/mKgs7jUvBK

The Drug Initiative for Neglected Diseases (DNDi) and the NGO Unitaid have launched the Quadrimune which combines four active ingredients, reduces the risk of resistance and comes in the form of a capsule to open, containing a pleasant powder to taste, to mix with milk or porridge.

This product, which is well preserved and does not need to be refrigerated, could be offered for less than a dollar a day. Today, however, the approval of the health authorities for marketing is still lacking. The file is currently submitted to the US Drug Agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is due to render its verdict in a few months.

The big missing piece was how to treat a child diagnosed early so that the virus would not be allowed to do all the damage it does when it reaches all the vital organs.

Dr. Isabelle Andrieux-Meyer, MD, is part of the team of researchers who developed the Quadrimune

02-12-2019 - By Caroline Paré

🛫 Next week, we'll take you to #Kigali in #Rwanda 🇷🇼 for 4 #VIH anti-HIV programs in # East Africa, youth and HIV, Rwanda health coverage and caring psychosocial of #strain linked to # genocide. Have a good week on @RFI! pic.twitter.com/nj74WKv96U

► Also to read: HIV Conference: children often left behind

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