Despite the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS within the injecting drug user population, EATG points out that drug users are excluded from clinical trials which raise concerns regarding the relevance of future treatments for this high-risk population.
EATG notes that health care professionals are forced to rely on a theoretical knowledge about the interactions between drugs and antiretroviral agents: case reports from animal model studies, extrapolation from in vitro pharmacokinetic experiments. Hence it is extremely difficult to apply data to everyday life practice settings.
Reasons to exclude drug users from clinical trials include concerns about adherence for instance, as well as ethical and legal barriers (eg illegal drug consumption).
EATG therefore calls for more research in the field as well as the inclusion of drug users in clinical trials.
