NEW DRUG INJECTION OFFERS EXPENSIVE HOPE TO END AIDS!

WITH the first longacting injectable option to prevent HIV infection hitting the market, experts say the virus’ deadly epidemic — and deadly AIDS — may become a thing of the past!

Late last year, the federal Food and Drug Administration approved cabotegravir — currently marketed under the brand name Apretude by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) — after a trial study showed the drug was more effective than existing oral medications.

According to GSK, the drug’s initial two doses should be administered one month apart, followed by an additional injection every two months.

Dr. Debra Birnkrant, director of the antivirals division at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, says cabotegravir adds an “important tool” to the effort to wipe out HIV because it’s the first pharmaceutical option to head off infection that doesn’t require a daily pill.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, pill medications such as

Truvada and Descovy have effectiveness rates up to 99 percent — if taken regularly.

Despite the apparent benefits of PrEP, the Centers for Disease Control claims only a

Cabotegravir is injected every two months and is the first treatment that doesn’t require a daily pill

quarter of the 1.2 million vulnerable people recommended for the drugs had received them.

Birnkrant says cabotegravir’s dosing schedule may help “high-risk individuals and certain groups where adherence to daily medication has been a major challenge or not a realistic option.”

However, cabotegravir comes with a hefty price tag of $3,700 per dose and may not be covered by insurance, whereas nearly all insurers are required by the federal government to cover PrEP pills with no costsharing charges.