What?
A new HIV treatment (cabotegravir (Vocabria®) and rilpivirine (Rekambys®)) delivered by ‘depot’ injection is set to decrease the number of pills people living with HIV have to take on a daily basis. Patients will usually take the pill or tablet form of this medication for one month to ensure they can tolerate it. Thereafter, following a successful trial period, they will be switched to receive an injection every one or two months. In the UK, it is usually every two months.
Popular examples of ‘depot’ injections are the contraceptive injection used by women to prevent pregnancy, and types of anti-psychotic medications used by patients with certain mental health disorders.
Why?
A depot injection is a type of slow-release medicine that delivers a drug by direct injection into a muscle. It stays in the system for a set period of time, and means you do not have to take the medication every day to maintain effective levels in the blood.
Depot injections are useful for patients by reducing the number of daily medications they take. As long as you attend the 1-2 monthly appointments, it avoids the risk of missing days at a time – if you forget your medication or your supply is delayed by running out and being unable to get to a pharmacy.
How (does it affect you)?
People with HIV must take ‘anti-retroviral’ medication every day. These medications are usually taken every day in pill or tablet form. This reduces the amount, or ‘viral load’, of HIV in the bloodstream to prevent transmission, and decrease the chance of transformation into AIDS. AIDS is the ‘immunodeficiency’ disease caused by the HIV virus. Patients are at risk of significant, life-threatening infections not usually caught by people with healthy immune systems. Therefore, it ivery important to enable patients to lower their viral load as easily as possible.
If you are living with HIV, and have an ‘undetectable’ viral load (<50 copies/ml) on your usual medication, you should be eligible for this treatment. Speak to your HIV team to arrange an appointment to discuss starting this treatment.
If you are eligible to receive it, this new treatment will replace your current HIV medication with an injection every one to two months. This is useful therefore for those who often travel, or find it frustrating to take medication every day. Studies have shown it is just as effective as traditional oral HIV medications.
NICE (the UK drug and treatment regulator) has only recently approved this medication, therefore your HIV team may not have access to it yet.
If you do not think you fit the above, it is still worth speaking to your HIV team. They may be able to amend your treatment plan to help you get your viral load down, and increase your chances of future eligibility.
No new drug is without side effects, and there may be interactions with your other medications. This should be discussed with your HIV team.
Click this link to find out more about this new and exciting treatment.
As always, best wishes from myHSN.
*myHSN does not replace medical advice of your healthcare provider, and as always, if you are unwell or need medical attention, please dial 111, or 999 in an emergency*
