Question
Will we be able to access genetic therapy?
18 February 2009. Related: Access to treatment, All topics, Cure.
Hello, I saw this on the news yesterday and i just couldn’t sleep, because I was so happy at this finding. Please can you tell me how soon this medication would be available? Do you think it will be subsidized? I live in the UK. I would appreciate more details on this medication. Thanks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7883023.stm
Answer
It is a very promising discovery and gives us all hope that the treatment paradigm may be changed soon. A word of caution, however, genetic research and treatment is usually very expensive and it may take time until proper funding for enhancing the studies is secured. In addition, genetic treatment needs to compete with the current and the cost-benefit analysis is really important. Finally, the whole sphere of genetics is a very complex area and many years may pass before a genetic treatment for HIV can be approved. Again, we all hope that this will happen sooner rather than later.
As for the subsidising of the treatment, I am fairly convinced and expect that in the UK and the other EU countries this treatment will be free of charge.
If you are interested in a more technical report about the treatment, you can see it at the following link: http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.1932.html
Hope this helps.
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