Dive Brief:
- In conjunction with the 2014 Research & Hope Awards, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and Boston Healthcare Associates (BHA) released a pair of reports that explored HIV/AIDS drug development in the U.S.
- Of the 44 medications and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS currently in development, 25 are antivirals, 16 are vaccines, and three are cell/gene therapies.
- The pipeline reflects the steady R&D efforts that have revolutionized the way HIV and AIDS have been treated since the first five cases were identified by the CDC in 1981. Since 1995, when antiretroviral (ARV) drugs were introduced, HIV/AIDS-related deaths have declined by 83%.
Dive Insight:
While antivirals are a cornerstone of the treatment of HIV/AIDS, there are many new types of therapy in development, including vaccines, as well as other medications with very different approaches. For instance, there is currently a new class of cell therapy drugs -- known as attachment inhibitors -- in development that aim to prevent HIV from breaking through the cell membrane. There is also a cell therapy that modifies a patient's own cells in order to make them resistant to HIV.
In addition to discussing new therapies in development, analysts also looked at new approaches to therapy that are radically shifting and advancing the treatment paradigm, including the preventative Pre-Exposure Prophylactic (PrEP) method.
Read more about PrEP in BioPharma Dive's exploration of HIV/AIDS treatment trends.