Pharmaceutical giant GSK vows more cutting-edge HIV treatment

People living with HIV and people with potential exposure to HIV in China are expected to leverage more of GlaxoSmithKline's innovative research results for the prevention and treatment of the disease as the global pharmaceutical company aims to further expand its relevant presence in the market.

"There will be more innovative and cost-effective solutions from GSK for both the treatment and prevention of HIV in China to help with the overall enhancement of AIDS prevention and treatment across the country," said Lauren Carey, vice-president and head of international region at ViiV Healthcare, GSK's subsidiary in HIV care.

Carey's statement came after the London-based company announced in May that its innovative PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, an HIV medicine to reduce the chances of getting HIV transmission, was approved in the China market, and the long-acting option can function for two months for people at risk.

"Our scientists are continuing to provide more innovation to people living with HIV in China. With that, we are building our innovation and pipeline based on patient needs and wants, as well as clinicians' inputs," Carey said.

Eyeing advanced HIV prevention and deepened cooperation in the Chinese market, GSK also initiated the second phase of its HIV continuous care advocacy and disease education project with the Chinese Association of STD & AIDS Prevention and Control this month, aiming to enhance public understanding of HIV and reduce societal discrimination.

"Looking ahead, we are also ramping up efforts to improve HIV drug accessibility in China. This includes our participation in the country's national reimbursement drug list, with the aim to help ease the economic burdens for these patients over the long run," said Tim Zhang, vice-president and head of GSK China's specialty care medicine business.

According to a report on trends in mortality and prevalence of reported HIV/AIDS cases in China released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, by the end of 2022, 1.223 million cases of HIV/AIDS were reported nationwide, with 107,000 new cases reported in 2022, an obvious downward trend.

"China's HIV prevention efforts have witnessed remarkable results by far. An increasing number of HIV-infected individuals are receiving standard testing and systematic treatment, turning the originally fatal disease into a manageable chronic infectious one," said Dai Lili, a professor at Beijing Youan Hospital, affiliated with Capital Medical University.

However, HIV prevention still faces significant challenges, including continuously expanding areas of high disease incidence, a rise in new cases among teenagers and the elderly, increasingly common late detections and severe comorbidities, Dai said. "The journey for HIV prevention and treatment is a long and arduous one."

lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn