18 MINUTES WITH…DR. KIMBERLY SMITH

The landscape of HIV is changing.

Incredible progress has been made over the past four decades of the HIV epidemic. Gone are the “bad old days” of the epidemic when HIV was the leading cause of death for adults in the US between the ages of 25-44.1 We’re now in an era where people living with HIV can expect to live a long and healthy life. Currently, it’s estimated that the proportion of people living with HIV aged 50 years or older will increase from 28% in 2010 to 73% 2030.2,3

HIV treatment has transitioned from handfuls of pills taken multiple times per day, to simplified once-daily regimens, to where we are currently, with long-acting treatment options that allow for doses taken months apart. We’ve also seen medicines for HIV prevention emerge to provide us with a formidable tool to fight the epidemic.

Dr. Kimberly Smith, ViiV Healthcare’s Head of Research & Development recently joined Scientific American to discuss how we end the HIV epidemic for all while exploring the next frontiers of HIV treatment, HIV cure, and why HIV must remain a focus for our society.

We know that innovation alone will not bring an end to the HIV epidemic and an all-encompassing approach must be adopted that removes barriers to HIV care and provides support for the HIV community to address stigma, increase engagement in care and build trust.

View Dr. Smith’s full conversation with Scientific American here:

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References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Update: Mortality Attributable to HIV Infection Among Persons Aged 25-44 Years -- United States, 1994. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00040227.htm. Accessed September 2022.
  2. AIDS info. Available at: http://aidsinfo.unaids.org/. Accessed September 2022
  3. Smit et al., Lancet Infect Dis 2015 Jul;15(7):810-8). Global AIDS Update. Available at: https://aids2020.unaids.org/report/. Accessed September 2022

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Reporting of side effects

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in the package leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellowcard in the Google Play or Apple App store. By reporting side effects, you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

If you are from outside the UK, you can report adverse events to GSK/ViiV by selecting your region and market, here.