University of Nebraska Medical Center scientists have created a delivery system for drugs that can eliminate HIV from immune cells and maintain control over the virus for lengthy amounts of time.
The researchers used their new delivery system to carry a drug created at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
“The chemical marriage between URMC-099 and antiretroviral drug nanoformulations could increase drug longevity, improve patient compliance and reduce general toxicities,” Howard Gendelman, lead study author, said. “We are excited about pursuing this research for the treatment and eradication of HIV infections.”
Current treatments for HIV require patients to take pills on a daily basis. This new treatment can be administered between one or two times a year with lasting results.
“Our ultimate hope is that we’re able to create a therapy that could be given much less frequently than the daily therapy that is required today,”
University of Rochester researcher Harris Gelbard said. “If a drug could be given once every six months or longer, that would greatly increase compliance, reduce side effects and help people manage the disease, because they won’t have to think about taking medication every day.”
Further details are available in Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine.
