US approves new HIV drug

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug to treat HIV infection on Friday. The drug, made by an arm of Johnson & Johnson, will be sold under the name Edurant, and is designed to be used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs in HIV-positive adults who have not received any prior treatment or therapy.

Side effects included depression, insomnia, headache and rash.

Bloomberg reports that the FDA's approval of the first new anti-HIV drug in three years "clears a hurdle for a planned combination pill with Gilead Science Inc.'s Truvada that may generate more than $1 billion in annual sales."

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To save lives, Johnson & Johnson should jump into the patent pool of suppling HIV Drugs in poor countries

The high cost of HIV drugs puts patients in poor countries — where the virus is most widespread — at a huge disadvantage.

Many must still take older, more toxic medicines no longer used in the United States. And when patients build up a resistance to the drugs they’re already using, they don’t have the option of switching to a new medication.

That’s why world health advocates came up with the idea of a “patent pool.” It’s meant to drive down costs to improve access to newer HIV drugs, including medicines for children. Participating drug makers can make their patents more widely available to generic manufacturers in developing countries, in exchange for royalty fees. The increased competition would greatly reduce drug costs.