SCOTLAND is continuing to lead the way in the dealing with HIV infection, with patients here among the first in Britain to be given access to a new treatment.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) yesterday approved Dovato for NHS use, which means people living with HIV can be treated with a daily, single-tablet combination of two drugs – compared to the currently used three-drug regimens – giving the same outcomes. There are more than 5300 people diagnosed with HIV in Scotland.
Dovato is produced by ViiV Healthcare, a global specialist HIV company, majority owned by GlaxoSmithKline, along with Pfizer and Shionogi Ltd.
Dr Rak Nandwani, chair of the Scottish HIV clinical leads, said: “Owing to treatment advances, people living with HIV are healthier and living longer than ever before.
“Individuals with undetectable viral load cannot pass it on. I’m pleased that Scotland continues to lead the way in the UK in terms of providing new options to both prevent and treat HIV.
“The SMC decision for Dovato offers a new type of treatment option with fewer agents compared to the current standard of taking a daily three drug regimen.
“Dovato also has the potential to offer further cost savings to NHS Scotland, in addition to the large savings which we have managed to achieve in recent years.”
The SMC said that in patients for whom this two-drug combination regimen is appropriate, it offered a single tablet at no additional cost compared with the two individual components.
Deborah Whitehouse, country manager of ViiV UK, added: “It’s our ambition to reduce the number of HIV drugs people living with HIV take over a lifetime.
“The SMC decision means people living with HIV in Scotland can for the first time start treatment on a once-daily, single-pill, two-drug regimen with the knowledge it has been shown to be as effective as a three-drug regimen while containing fewer antiretrovirals.”
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