Atripla was first introduced in Europe and the United States of America a few months ago.

HIV product specialist for Merc Sharp and DOHME, Harbhajan Sigh, has this week confirmed that they have applied for permission to dispense the drug. However, he pointed out that Atripla was not necessarily a newfound drug, but that they had combined all the drugs used in therapy into one pill to lessen the burden on those who had enrolled for the ARV therapy.

Atripla contains 600mg of efavirenz, 200mg of emtricitabine and 300mg of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. The formulation of this new drug was driven by the desire to simplify the therapy for people living with HIV/AIDS, Singh has said. He emphasised that patients who enrolled on this therapy would not have the burden of taking pills frequently as they would only have to take one pill once a day. He stated that reduced frequency would not only enhance adherence, but would also reduce stigma and discrimination as one would not have to go around carrying the pills at all the times.

"It is easy to integrate it into one's lifestyle," he said. On the other hand, studies have indicated that Atripla is less toxic than other drugs and less associated with AZT tolerability issues like anaemia and nausea. It is disassociated from stigmatising AZT related toxicities such as lipoatrophy. "This is the improper distribution of fat, which results in people gaining weight in the wrong places such as the back of the neck, biceps and around the hips," said Sigh. Clinical research has shown that for treatment to be optimally effective, patients must adhere to their regimens at least 95 percent, therefore drugs with easier to manage dosing schedules will be crucial for the long time success of the HIV treatment. The new drug would not only benefit the patients, but the medical practitioners who administer the drug.

"The simplified logistics, easy storage and distribution is an added advantage to the health practitioners," he said. Atripla can also be used in combination with other drugs for patients who have grown to the second line of the therapy. Sigh has indicated that like other drugs caution should be applied on pregnant mothers. He indicated that it might cause fatal harm when administered during the first trimester of pregnancy. "Women should not become pregnant or breastfeed when taking Atripla," he said. However, Singh has advised that women can always consult with their doctors if they have plans to fall pregnant. The United States Food and Drug Administration approved Atripla in July this year.

Francistown medical practitioner Kgosidialwa Mompati agreed that a drug such as Atripla would reduce the pill burden, which already has taken its toll on people living with HIV/AIDS. Dr Mompati indicated that Atripla would help enhance good compliance since the patient would only have to take one pill a day. He added that storage would also be easy for medical practitioners, as they did not have many drugs to keep. Medical practitioners, too, would have less work as prescribing a single drug was much simpler than multiple ones. Mompati said that the drug might be cheaper compared to multiple ones.

Unangoni Moalosi, who has been on ARVs for some time now, concurred that the new single dose would promote adherence. He noted that sometimes people would only remember to take their medicine in the morning and forget to take the evening one or vice versa. Moalosi said the drug would help those "who are new on the therapy as they are the ones who often struggle with adherence".