SPAIN – Intramuscular injection consists of a combination of two drugs, which are administered every two months; it will become available in the next few years in the treatment of AIDS, allowing patients not to have to take a daily medication.

The head of Infectious Diseases and AIDS of Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Josep Maria Gatell said that “adherence to treatment is one of the main problems of disease” because some patients do not properly follow medical guidelines, while “injection will enable them to comply with treatment, further improving their quality of life.”

Gatell, who presented the XXII International Symposium on HIV last month held in Barcelona, said that “this treatment is not yet commercialized, as it is in phase 3 study,” although he said that “if all goes well, in mid-2018 and could hit the market. “

Drugs that make up the injection, according to doctor of the HIV Unit of the Hospital Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona, Esteban Ribera, “were drugs that already existed but have been reformulated with nanotechnology, which have a longer release” and they relieve from the need to take them every day.

On the other hand, Gatell and Ribera stressed the importance of early detection of the disease and beginning treatment immediately after diagnosis, as this helps to fight the disease effieciently.

Being a contagious disease, it is essential, according to Gartell,  “to identify people who are infected and do not know and start treating them as soon as possible” because that’s’ “not only is a benefit for those affected, but also for public health,” since in this way the risk of transmission is unconsciously reduced.