VOA标准英语2012--A Step Closer to Major HIV Prevention Method

A Step Closer to Major HIV Prevention Method

A U.S. government panel has recommended the use of a once daily pill to help prevent HIV infection. The pill has been shown to be very effective in studies. The Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, now has until June 15th to decide whether to approve the panel’s recommendation.

The Food and Drug Administration’s Antiviral Drugs Advisory¹ Committee has endorsed² the use of Truvada as a prevention method.

Mitchell Warren, head of the AIDS advocacy group AVAC, says it’s a combination pill.

“It’s made up of two different antiretrovirals – tenofovir and emtricitabine. And those two drugs had already been approved by the FDA a number of years ago individually; and then about 8 years ago they were approved as the combination drug. But all of those approvals related to the use of the drug for treating people who are already infected with HIV,” he said.

But since it now would be used as a prevention method it needs new FDA approval.

Warren said, “It’s the first time that the FDA is considering a pill for prevention of HIV. The data presented came from a number of trials looking at the potential benefit of providing this drug to HIV uninfected people, who are at high risk of HIV in hopes of preventing transmission.”

The evidence is based on trials where participants included men who have sex with men and discordant³ couples. That’s where one partner is infected and the other is not. The prevention method is called preexposure prophylaxis.

“If you are at risk of HIV, if you perceive yourself to be at risk, if you’re able to take this pill everyday as part of a combination of activities, including getting frequent HIV testing, you can reduce your risk of infection quite substantially. And that’s a huge step forward in adding a new option for men and women to prevent HIV,” he said.

The FDA often follows the recommendations of its advisory committees, but approval is not guaranteed. The agency must consider a number of things before deciding. One is what would the drug label say? Would it list only specific high risk groups like men who have sex with men or recommend it for both men and women?

It also must require the manufacturer – Gilead – to produce a risk evaluation⁴ and mitigation strategy. This would help ensure safe and effective use of Truvada, including extensive training for health providers and testing to ensure people are indeed HIV negative before taking the pill.

Warren says another big issue affecting Truvada is cost.

“One often hears in the United States where this is described as a $14,000 a year pill. Rarely does anyone pay that. And one of the really exciting things – when Gilead presented all of the data they actually said publically that they plan to create a patients assistance program. So if you are HIV infected and don’t have insurance, there are programs that Gilead supports to make the drug available at very low cost or in some cases even free,” he said.

The drug would be much cheaper in developing countries, possibly several hundred dollars a year. But that’s still high by developing country standards. Warren says that price could be negotiated and reduced if PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis⁵ and Malaria⁶, plan to use Truvada.

1 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

2 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 discordant   

adj.不调和的

参考例句：

• Leonato thought they would make a discordant pair.里奥那托认为他们不适宜作夫妻。
• For when we are deeply mournful discordant above all others is the voice of mirth.因为当我们极度悲伤的时候，欢乐的声音会比其他一切声音都更显得不谐调。

4 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

5 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

6 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。