A New Treatment for HIV

Late last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two new medications to help treat HIV-1, the most common strain of the virus. This announcement marks the latest development in new treatment options available for people who live with HIV.

On August 30, drug manufacturer, Merck, announced that the FDA gave its stamp of approval to two new antiretroviral medications — Delstrigo and Pifeltro. These are oral medications meant for HIV-positive adults who haven’t received antiretroviral treatments previously. These drugs aren’t for those who’ve already been receiving antiretroviral treatment for HIV. The approval came about after successful phase III trials for Delstrigo and Pifeltro that involved over 700 participants for each drug. Interestingly, both medications showed signs of lowered cholesterol as a somewhat surprising side effect.

“Fortunately, the HIV population is aging — they are living longer and longer, and I think statistics show that soon, if not already, the majority of people living with HIV will be over 50. So, more likely, they will have comorbidities like high cholesterol — all these things you get when you get old,” Dr. Carey Hwang, executive director and product development lead, global clinical development – infectious diseases at Merck Research Laboratories, said. “We don’t expect any real significant drug interactions with a lot of the medicines used to treat these comorbidities.”