He said the new drug was recognised by the World Health Organisation as being more effective, and he warned of a looming crisis of HIV drug resistance in Southeast Asia.
Martin Choo of the Asia Pacific Council of AIDS Service Organisations said the medicine currently in use may not be the most effective for the 100,000 Malaysians currently affected by HIV/AIDS.
The newer drug, called dolutegravir (DTG), has been recognised as the preferred first-line, second-line and third-line treatment for HIV from this year, according to the World Health Organisation, with many countries switching to this treatment.
However, the cost is a drawback: RM600 for a month’s supply at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre and approximately RM500 at public hospitals or healthcare institutions.
However, in the long run, introducing DTG as the main treatment would be cost-effective. “We save all these other costs that come with poorer health.”
He urged the government to enter negotiations with the drug manufacturer for access to generic DTG in Malaysia, which may reduce the cost to RM150 for a month’s supply.
“As an upper middle income country, we usually don’t get concessions. The company promised to come up with a plan before the end of the year,” Choo said.
He said drug-resistance was a growing problem and DTG had a high barrier to drug-resistance “which is why we should have it, especially in a region where we don’t know how many people are resistant to HIV drugs,” he said.
Choo said, at present, it was not mandatory to test for drug resistance before administering treatment to an infected person.
He recommended that the government carry out a survey to determine how many people were resistant to NNRTIs, the current drug in use.
Choo added that, even though the government has been providing free HIV treatment, only half of those diagnosed were seeking treatment.