HIV/AIDS cure news 2017: Implantable drug pump for HIV prevention receives $140 million investment from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Georgia Gana Tuesday, January 03, 2017

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates speaks while his wife Melinda looks on during an interview in New York, on February 22, 2016. The couple's foundation is committed to saving lives through HIV prevention. | Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

More than 30 years later, scientists and researchers have yet to find a cure for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which, when left untreated, leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a condition that afflicts over 36.7 million people worldwide. Thankfully, the field has achieved significant progress over the years. Recently, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $140 million to support the development of a tiny implantable pump that could prevent the spread of HIV in places where the epidemic is most severe like sub-Saharan Africa.

Intarcia Therapeutics Inc. recently announced the investment made by the foundation toward the Medici Drug Delivery System, an anti-HIV prophylactic that is the size of a matchstick but can hold six to 12 months' supply of medicine. It delivers microdoses to ensure effective HIV prevention. It can be received via once or twice-a-year therapy.

"There's a vital need for an HIV/AIDS intervention that allows those at risk to incorporate prevention more easily into their daily lives. We feel optimistic about our partnership with Intarcia and the prospect of an implantable prophylactic device that could make a world of different for people most in need," said Sue Desmond-Hellman, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in a press release.

According to Intarcia, $50 million will be allotted to program-related investment into the Series EE round and up to $90 million will be allotted to non-dilutive milestone-based grants tied to the HIV prophylactic program. If the program is successful, the foundation has expressed willingness to invest additional grants.

The promulgation of Intarcia's implantable drug pump will be in line with the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prevention strategy. This strategy is extremely successful in preventing HIV infection. Clinical trials for Truvada, a daily pill for PrEP to become available in some African countries, show risk reduction by 90 percent. While the merits of this strategy are quite evident, it is said that one of the difficulties faced is making healthy people take a pill every day.

"That is what makes Intarcia's pump so attractive. You put it in and you forget it. You can immediately imagine how it could be applicable," said Emilio Emini, director of the HIV program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, adding that it will function like a long-acting form of contraception.

Intarcia and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have yet to discuss the drug that will be put into the pump and it is likely that it will take a few years before coming up with an effective formula. Nevertheless, initial tests have revealed that there is a "very good probability of success."