Often, relatively inexpensive treatments exist for neglected diseases, but they’re not available in poor countries – or pharmaceutical companies don’t foresee much of a profit in developing new or better treatments for them.
Cohen said drugs are available to prevent mother-to-child-transmission of HIV, but not enough women are getting them.
“Many women just don’t have access to ante-natal care, so never even attend an ante-natal service where they can be diagnosed. Even if they do, very few pregnant women are offered an HIV test. And access to optimal antiretroviral prophylaxis or therapy is really insufficient. And there are a number of other barriers. Alternatives to breastfeeding are uncommon, etc. And so we still find that a huge number of children are born with HIV in poor countries,” she said.
Speeding the process
It can take years to develop antiretrovirals suitable for children. The initiative wants to speed that process because current treatments for kids don’t pass the taste test.
“Ideally, we want this pediatric therapy to be very easy to administer and better tolerated by children than the current drugs. Today there are separate liquid preparations of some antiretrovirals for children under three, but they taste terrible. Children have a difficult time to tolerate them. They’re very difficult to administer for caregivers,” Cohen said.
The drugs also need to remain stable in tropical temperatures and be available in simple doses. The drugs also have to be compatible with other medicines the HIV-infected children may be taking.
最新
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27