A US-based Kenyan scientist has unveiled the world's first antiretroviral (ARV) drug to be taken once-a-year. Prof Benson Edagwa and his colleagues at the University of Nebraska Medical Center modified an existing ARV drug - cabotegravir - to enable the body to absorb and release it slowly from tissues over 12 months. “This occurs for extended time periods, and in laboratory and animal testing, up to a year,” said Prof Edagwa, who designed and produced the required modifications of the new product. Prof Edagwa, a former Moi University chemistry student, co-developed the new formulation with Prof Howard Gendelman, a virologist and chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience at UNMC. Edagwa, who comes from Vihiga, works as an assistant professor in the department.

Source: The Star April 27, 2020 20:03 UTC