Cape Town – A pharmaceutical company hopes to make treatment for those living with HIV easier with the launch of Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumurate, Lamivudine and Dolutegravir (TLD).
It is the first fixed-dose combination ARV of its kind to be offered to patients being treated for HIV, which will be available as a first-line regimen for people living with HIV/Aids.
The company, Mylan, said the medication would go a long way towards addressing key changes by those taking ARVs, including reducing the number of pills taken and having a higher ARV efficacy.
TLD combines three of the leading first-line agents into a new, smaller tablet that patients can take once a day.
Rakesh Bamzai, Mylan's president for India and emerging markets, said: “Mylan’s global HIV initiative is one of the key priorities of the company.
"The launch of TLD in South Africa reinforces our long-standing commitment to fighting HIV/Aids and supports our mission of expanding access to high-quality medicines to more people."
He noted that HIV was a public health priority for South Africa and other nations across the world.
“We are proud of our progress to date in stemming the tide of the disease. More than 40% of the nearly 21 million HIV-positive patients being treated today - and 60% of the world’s HIV-positive children - depend on one of Mylan’s products every day.”
UNAids said that according to its statistics, new infections have gone down by 49% and Aids-related deaths are down by 29% since 2010.
It said South Africa has the largest treatment programme in the world, accounting for 20% of people on antiretroviral therapy globally.
The country also has one of the largest domestically funded programmes, with about 80% of the Aids response funded by the government.
“In 2000, just 685 000 people living with HIV had access to antiretroviral therapy.
"By June 2017, around 20.9 million people had access to the life-saving medicines.
"Such a dramatic scale-up could not have happened without the courage and determination of people living with HIV demanding and claiming their rights, backed up by steady, strong leadership and financial commitment,” said UNAids.