LEAP Publications

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges for long acting injectable therapies: insights for applications in HIV therapy

Date: 
8/1/16
Citation: 

Owen A, Rannard S. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges for long acting injectable therapies: Insights for applications in HIV therapy. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2016 Aug 1;103:144-156. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2016.02.003. Epub 2016 Feb 23. PMID: 26916628; PMCID: PMC4935562.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic remains a major public health threat and approximately 36.9 million [34.3 million–41.4 million] people worldwide are estimated to be infected. In 2014, AIDS claimed an estimated 1.2 million [980 000–1.6 million] lives globally, with 2 million [1.9 million–2.2 million] people being newly infected in the same year. Worldwide, around 15.8 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy in June 2015, constituting ~41% of adults and ~32% of children infected with the virus [1]. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) currently involves co-administration of drugs to simultaneously inhibit multiple viral targets, maximising inhibition of viral replication whilst minimising drug resistance.

    Drug Delivery Strategies and Systems for HIV/AIDS Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Treatment

    Date: 
    12/10/15
    Citation: 

    Nelson AG, Zhang X, Ganapathi U, Szekely Z, Flexner CW, Owen A, Sinko PJ. Drug delivery strategies and systems for HIV/AIDS pre-exposure prophylaxis and treatment. J Control Release. 2015 Dec 10;219:669-680. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2015.08.042. Epub 2015 Aug 24. PMID: 26315816; PMCID: PMC4879940.

    The year 2016 will mark an important milestone - the 35th anniversary of the first reported cases of HIV/AIDS. Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) drug regimens are widely considered to be one of the greatest achievements in therapeutic drug research. In fact, ART has transformed healthcare for HIV-infected people from a terminal illness where patients quickly progress from HIV infection to AIDS and serious opportunistic infections to today, where HIV infection is widely regarded as a chronic disease. Unfortunately, the discontinuation of ART or the development of drug resistance results in rapid viral rebound. The lack of widespread successful preventive measures and the inability to eradicate HIV from infected cells highlight the significant healthcare challenges and DD opportunities that remain today.

      Pages