Blog

One response to COVID-19 is to track and report on the volume of new research – when there is limited information about risk, treatment and management. This is especially important living in a country with one of the highest rates …

This is a small selection of work that was included in a major art exhibition about HIV – either from artists who were/are HIV positive or from other artists responding to the AIDS crisis. The exhibition included about 300 individual …

The following letter was sent to Public Health England (PHE) in response to being asked to join a community advisory board for proposed further PrEP research. There are important questions about PrEP but this proposed study is looking at none …

One of the most significant and healthy changes over the last year has been the new energy and activism over HIV prevention work – and for the UK this is particularly notable.  Much of this has been focused on PrEP …

This post is about two open meetings I attended this month at the United Nations as part of preparations for the upcoming UN High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in June 2016. These meetings were for community input into the next …

Optimistic news suggests that UK access to PrEP may still be considerd in June, following a threat of legal action against NHS England for their decision terminate public discussion on a stakeholder report that had recommended approval. On 19 April …

The dominant market structure where pharmaceutical drug pricing blocks access to otherwise cheap-to-manufacture life-saving medicines from the people who most need them, was highlighted by international activists on Friday. This was a coordinated action linking community-based organisations from seven countries …

Generic versions of newly recommended antiretrovirals and fixed dose combination (FDC) regimens will be available for adults this year and next. But for children key formulations to implement 2013 recommendations are still unavailable.   Among the many announcements and outpourings …

Lower dose efavirenz (EFV), dolutegravir (DTG) and tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) are expected to make up a large chunk of the adult first-line market over the next five years, and contribute to treatment cost reductions, according to rrecent projections by …

This blog is a from a 5-minute open mic talk last night held downstairs at KuKlub bar in Soho. I hadn’t planned to speak until I got to the bar, but wanted to link four current stories about HIV, HCV, …

Note: at CROI 2017, a higher risk of viral rebound and development of integrase inhibitor drug resistance means that dolutegravir monotherapy is not recommended. Anyone using dolutegravir is recommended to switch to dual or triple therapy. https://i-base.info/htb/31289 This blog discusses …

The following links are to recent articles about buying generic medicines online in the UK.  Buying medicines online is perfectly legal in the UK. Neither the UK medicines agency (MHRA) nor HM Customs & Excise have concerns with this, so …

The 5000% increase in price in the US for an off-patent drug by a company with a monopoly license was widely reported yesterday. This was based on a very good article on Monday 21 September in the New York Times. …

On Thursday 2 June, health activists led by ACT UP London held a protest in Soho to demonstrate access to PrEP for people at high risk of HIV infection. The demonstration was loud and active – forming a line from …

This blog is mainly a link page to three recent articles about the START study. A technical report in HIV Treatment Bulletin mainly for health professionals. i-base.info/htb/28261 A non-technical report to explain the implications of the results for HIV positive …

This talk was for the British HIV Association spring conference. It was a small study lead by advocates at i-Base and was selected by the conference for an oral presentation (Abstract O_4). The study calculated readability scores from nine ongoing …

A definition of ChemSex, proposed by activists from 56 Dean Street and ReShape makes the essential distinction between ChemSex and recreational drugs for sex. ChemSex is NOT the same as recreational drug use. It is a specific form of recreational drug …

PrEP works. NHS access needed now. The activist group, ACT-UP London organised a community demonstration this morning to support the advisory group working on access to PrEP. Great to see support from ACT-UP, ReShape, Positively UK, i-Base,  THT and others. With 6000 people diagnosed with HIV in 2013 …

A couple of weeks ago I gave a talk about PrEP from a community perspective to the HIV conference in Glasgow. The talk lasts for 20 minutes with questions afterwards and is now available as a webcast on the conference website. …

Talk about PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) from the HIV Conference in Glasgow. The talk looks at the history of PrEP and a few myths. Although optimal use will be in situations where HIV risk is high, PrEP – just like TasP (Treatment …