AIDS breakthrough as NHS rolls out new lifesaving medicine against mutant HIV

AIDS breakthrough as NHS rolls out new lifesaving medicine against mutant HIV EXCLUSIVE: HIV patients with mutant form of the virus resistant to antiretrovirals will now be offered Lenacapavir on the NHS in England in ‘landmark’ move People with a deadly drug-resistant form of HIV are being offered a “trailblazing” drug for the first time. Around 100,000 people in England have HIV for which there is no cure but treatment breakthroughs mean that most have it controlled by medication and cannot pass on the virus. However for a minority, their virus has mutated to become resistant to standard antiretroviral drugs so it can progress to life-threatening illness. Now the NHS will prescribe new drug Lenacapavir and these unwell patients will be contacted urgently to begin treatment in the coming weeks. One woman already receiving the first-of-its-kind medicine told the Mirror that it has saved her life. Antiretroviral drugs suppress the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and stop it attacking the immune system. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the late-stage disease that develops if HIV is not effectively treated. Highly effective drugs mean most people with HIV now never develop AIDS. A woman, who asked to be referred to only as Jane, told how she was born with HIV infection and prescribed multiple different medications throughout childhood. She developed a fear of swallowing large tablets and eventually resistance to first line HIV treatments. Before accessing Lenacapavir via a compassionate access programme with the drugmaker, her immune system was dangerously low, and she was admitted to hospital regularly with complications. Following treatment she now has undetectable HIV levels and her immune system has recovered. Jane said: “Lenacapavir has been life saving for me. Before this medication, I was really unwell. Now I am working full time and am living a normal life. I’m not worried anymore and feel a lot happier. “I’m so pleased that more people living with HIV that is resistant to treatment will now be able to get this treatment from the NHS. It can make all the difference.” Lenacapavir works by targeting the virus's protective outer shell - known as the capsid - preventing it from reproducing. Up until now, existing NHS drugs have targeted the enzymes that HIV uses to make copies of itself. Health Minister Baroness Merron said: "For people living with drug-resistant HIV this landmark treatment will totally transform their lives and, even better, it’s available on the NHS. "We're determined to end new HIV transmissions by 2030 and this life-saving drug alongside our new HIV Action Plan, demonstrates this government’s commitment to give people living with HIV every opportunity to live long and healthy lives.” Some organisations such as the Terrence Higgins Trust now prefer to use the term "advanced HIV" or "late-stage HIV" but still use the acronym when discussing historical context. Daniel Fluskey, director at the National AIDS Trust, said: "This is a huge decision for people who need life-saving treatment and takes us a step closer to ensuring that no one dies from AIDS-related illnesses here in the UK. “Over years too many people have lost loved ones, family, and friends because of a lack of access to medicine and the harm caused by stigma, prejudice, and discrimination. So when a new life-saving treatment is available it must get to the people who need it.” One in ten of all new HIV diagnoses in the UK involve a virus with some level of drug resistance to antiretroviral drugs. Around 100 people a year in England are likely to need Lenacapavir because they have become resistant to all medications. John Stewart, NHS England director for specialised commissioning, said: "This trailblazing new drug, approved for the first time by the NHS, is offering a lifeline to those people for whom options are limited, as conventional HIV treatments do not work. And it gives them the opportunity to live a normal, healthy and long life.” Around 92 eligible patients in England will initially be contacted in England over the next few weeks to inform them that they qualify for Lenacapavir. Around 300 people are expected to be offered it in the next three years. They will initially take a tablet for two days, then have a follow-up tablet on day eight. After this they will have two injections before switching to an injection every six months. Targeting these patients could help NHS England meet its pledge to end all HIV transmissions in the community by 2030. Daniel Fluskey added: "We’ve come so far with HIV treatment that people can now expect to live long and healthy lives with HIV, and alongside improvements in HIV prevention we have all the tools needed to achieve the UK Government’s goal of ending new HIV transmissions and AIDS-related deaths by 2030, as long as those tools can be easily accessed by everyone who needs them.” Despite huge strides made to reduce global HIV rates and AIDS-related deaths since 2000, about 1.3 million people still contracted HIV last year, and more than 600,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses. It received official backing last July from the World Health Organisation for HIV prevention.