Glaxo gets a boost as EU regulators approve new HIV prevention drug Apretude for sale

GSK received a dose of good news yesterday after EU regulators approved its HIV prevention treatment. 

The FTSE 100 firm – led by chief executive Emma Walmsley (pictured) – announced that its cabotegravir drug, which was developed by GSK-controlled ViiV Healthcare, had been recommended for sale by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). 

Shot in the arm: GSK boss Emma Walmsley

The treatment, sold under the brand name Apretude, is approved in the US, Australia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi, Botswana and Brazil. 

It is designed to act as long-standing protection from HIV infection, when administered as an injection.

 The treatment needs to be taken just six times per year if patients receive a dose every two months. 

This is massively less than current HIV prevention drugs, most of which require patients to take tablets every day to maintain a sufficient level of protection against the virus. 

‘The expansion of prevention options is critical if we are to end the HIV epidemic… We are hopeful that people in Europe will soon be able to benefit from greater choice, ‘ said Kimberly Smith, the head of research at ViiV. 

Shares in GSK climbed by 0.6pc, or 7.6p, to 1395.8p. 

Another of ViiV’s HIV drugs, cabenuva, was also approved for use in the UK in 2021 by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. 

Cabenuva allows HIV-positive patients to take an injection every two months rather than daily tablets to suppress the virus.