73 Nations Warn of Antiretroviral Drug Shortages, WHO Finds

A World Health Organization (WHO) survey has shown that 73 countries are facing risks of running out of antiretroviral (ARV) medicines due to pandemic-related issues, the organization announced.

Of those countries, 24 said they either have critically low amounts of ARV drugs or have encountered disruptions in obtaining them. The organization said that last year, an estimated 8.3 million people had access to ARVs in those countries, which accounted for approximately 33 percent of all people on HIV treatments globally.

“A failure of suppliers to deliver ARVs on time and a shut-down of land and air transport services, coupled with limited access to health services within countries as a result of the pandemic, were among the causes cited for the disruptions in the survey,” the WHO said.

Under the conditional marketing authorization, Gilead is required to provide more data on quality, effectiveness and safety by August 2020 and submit final study reports by December 2020.