China has approved the world's first long-acting ART drug

Administration of China for the Control of Food and Drug approved the long-acting Albuvirtide injectable antiretroviral drug (ART) developed in the country. As reported by Science and Technology Daily, this is the world's first drug for the treatment of HIV infection, which has an extended effect.

The action of the drug, developed by Frontier Biotechnologies Inc. (Nanjing), is based on blocking the process of HIV fusion with the surface of host cells, the Global Times news agency reports. In other words, the agent is an inhibitor of fusion.

"For the first time, a drug produced in China offers patients with HIV a new treatment option. We hope to dispel the myth that China is not able to develop high-quality antiviral therapy, "said Xie Dong, head of the research department and former head of Frontier Biotechnologies Inc.

Let's notice, that, according to official data, today in China lives about 720 thousand HIV-positive people. As of the end of June 2017, the country recorded more than 220,000 deaths from HIV-related illnesses.