HIV positive people running out of treatment options are relaxing a little with Pharmac advising that funding for a long-awaited HIV drug will kick in on October 1st. Raltegravir, marketed as Isentress Raltegravir, a new anti-retroviral drug which has been available and funded in Australia and other countries for some time, has until now been available to only a few Kiwis on a compassionate access basis whereby the manufacturer, Merck Sharpe and Dhome, offered free treatments to those most in need. Three months ago, in a rare move, a number of HIV professionals, including the NZAF and highly-placed infectious diseases specialists accused Pharmac, the government drug funder, of relegating New Zealand to second class status and putting lives at risk by not funding cutting-edge drugs Raltegravir and Darunavir. Darunavir has yet to be funded.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 20th September 2009 - 12:31am