The HIV treatments available in Spain are pills that are taken daily, normally between one and three a day, but as of December 1, Spanish patients with controlled HIV will have the first long-acting antiretroviral therapy that is administered in the form of an intramuscular injection once every two months, that is, only six times a year, as reported by the general director of ViiV Healthcare Spain, Ricardo Moreno; the specialist in Internal Medicine of the HIV Unit of the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital, María Eugenia Negredo; and the specialist in Internal Medicine of the HIV Unit of the Hospital 12 de Octubre, Federico Pulido.
The medicine has been developed by the pharmaceutical companies ViiV Healthcare and Janssen and the Ministry of Health has authorized it, so it will be financed by Social Security. It is made up of the active substances cabotegravir and rilpivirine. It is the first antiretroviral that is not administered daily orally and is indicated for patients with an undetectable viral load, a requirement that up to 90% of them meet.
The mechanism of prolonged action of the drug is based on a system of nanoparticles or nanocrystals that, after its administration through intramuscular injection, the medication is released gradually in the body, and the concentration of the active ingredients is maintained. for two months, at which time they must be administered again.
Improve adherence to HIV treatment
The fact of having to take the medication daily throughout life made adherence to treatment difficult, since, in addition to the possible side effects, many patients forgot to take the pills or felt stigmatized. But the new intramuscular treatment administered by a healthcare professional every two months improves the quality of life of the more than 151,000 people who currently live in our country with this viral infection.
“There is already a very long management of safety and efficacy and the main side effects are pain from the puncture”
This new treatment that combines two drugs has been developed thanks to the participation of more than 600 Spanish patients from 44 hospital centers for eight years. “It is recommended in patients who are well controlled and for whom, for some reason, it provides advantages over daily oral treatment. There is already a long-term management of safety and efficacy and the main side effects are pain from the puncture”, explained Dr. Pulido.
According to this specialist, since its existence was known through clinical trials, or because it is already being marketed in other countries, Spanish patients have demanded this treatment in consultations. “We have a waiting list,” he stated to highlight that patients who have been with this treatment for eight years now because they have participated in clinical trials, have not wanted to return to oral therapy.
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