Implant developed to treat HIV for up to a Year

Researchers in the US have developed an injectable implant that will deliver drugs to help prevent and treat HIV for up to a year.
The device is comprised of three elements; an organic solvent, a polymer and the drugs themselves. The three parts form a liquid that solidifies once injected with the solvent diffusing into the body, leaving the polymer and the drugs behind. The rate the drugs are released into the body is determined by adjusting the ratio of polymer to drugs, and its’s believed that the implant could enhance the long term treatment and prevention of HIV, where currently patients are required to take multiple drugs at the same time each day.
“There is currently no FDA approved or technology for the long term prevention of HIV.” Said Rahima Benhabbour, assistant professor in the UNC_NCSU Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering “Our technology is promising for any kind of condition that requires a daily intake of medication, as it can provide a safe and removable long lasting injection that takes away the burden that comes with a daily medication regime.”