Tough HIV drug ads draw fire

While the appropriateness of advertisement content may be a real issue, it is a fact that abacavir-containing medicines {GSK}are now the "preferred" medicines for new HIV patients. Its safety profile has been markedly improved due to the high predictive value of HLA-B*5701 testing for the major side-effect (hypersensitivity syndrome) published in 2008. See "Guidelines for the Use of Retroviral Agents in HIV-1-infected Adults and Children," DHHS Panel, Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council (OARAC), January 29, 2008.

There are accepted HIV treater guidelines for changing HIV drugs in patients who are failing on their current drug regimen (usually three or more antiretroviral drugs). There are no guidelines for changing HIV regimens in patients who are stable and without significant adverse events. Problems may arise when these stable HIV patients see "grass is greener" type information about competing drugs without understanding the unique short and long term potential adverse events of each drug and with each combination of drugs, or with the unique viral mutations associated with each drug combination failure. The choice of HIV drugs can be a VERY complex issue that may impact the patient and their HIV treatment options for the rest of their life. HIV patients who are stable and meeting their treatment goals should work with their healthcare provider to carefully understand and evaluate the potential risks vs the expected benefits before changing their drug regimen. There is a seven-question patient's checklist that can be downloaded and printed from www.haarttohaart.com. The checklist may be useful to facilitate the patient's interaction with their healthcare provider and may help them better evaluate their choice.

But hang on, isn't it possible that Pharma is for once doing us a bit of a favour?

One of the biggest problems we have on the HIV prevention front these days is making young people, the post-AIDS generation, aware that HIV is something better prevented than treated. While I'm sure Big Pharama doesn't mean to, they are inadvertently helping out with that by raising the profile of the side-effects of one another's products.