A commission from the French Medicines Agency (ANSM) has issued a favorable opinion on the use of Truvada as a preventive treatment against AIDS for people not infected but at “high risk”, according to a press release from the Agency.
The American laboratory Gilead’s Truvada will be able to benefit from the “temporary recommendation for use” (RTU) which would allow this drug to be prescribed as a preventive measure, according to the ANSM. Indeed, this favorable opinion is only one step towards the RTU which will have to be delivered by the director general of the ANSM. A decision expected in “a few weeks”.
A measure that will satisfy the National AIDS Research Agency (ANRS). This association for the fight against AIDS had asked in September 2015, the Minister of Health Marisol Touraine to speed up the process of examining the RTU request. “ Access to Truvada must be guaranteed for all those who urgently need it Bruno Spire explained in a press release.
The antiretroviral drug Truvada, is effective in reducing the risk of HIV infection in people who are negative. The antiretroviral drug Truvada has been put to the test by two clinical trials, the British study Proud and the French Hypergay. The results of these two surveys confirm that it would be effective in reducing the risk of HIV infection in HIV-negative people. It should be taken during unsafe sex.
If in France, 13 million people are treated with antivirals, each year, more than 6,000 new HIV infections are discovered. People are mainly infected through sexual intercourse. One of the most vulnerable groups is men who have sex with men (MSM). They represent 42% of new cases. The National Institute for Public Health Surveillance (INVS) estimates that 30,000 to 40,000 people with HIV are unaware of it.
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