The international event took place in Plzeň on November 25 as part of the 7 th International AIDS Day Symposium held by the Infectious Diseases Medicine Society of the ČLS JEP, the Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine Clinic of the University Hospital in Plzeň, the National Institute of Public Health in Prague and the Institute of Public Health in Ústí nad Labem. This year’s discussions once again included leading experts in the field such as Prof. José Gatell, honorary professor at the University of Barcelona, the guarantor of the symposium and former president of EACS (European AIDS Clinical Society), EACS president Prof. Jürgen Rockstroh, Prof. Pedro Cahn of the Argentinian NGO Fundación Huésped, and others.
“I greatly appreciate the work of Czech doctors who have long been among the European leaders in HIV treatment. Thanks to their dedicated care, Czech patients have a chance to enjoy a similar quality of life and survival rates as the healthy population. This is also one of the reasons why the key topics of this year’s meeting include the particular challenges of caring for aging HIV-positive patients. This is a crucial issue that should not be overlooked by neither doctors nor the society in general,” says Prof. José Gatell, the guarantor of the international symposium.
Czech speakers at the symposium include Doc. MUDr. Dalibor Sedláček, CSc., head of the Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine Clinic and the HIV Centre of the University Hospital in Plzeň, MUDr. David Jilich, head of the HIV Centre of the Infectious, Tropical and Parasitic Disease Clinic of the Na Bulovce Hospital in Prague, MUDr. Milan Zlámal, head of the HIV Centre and deputy head of the Infectious Disease Clinic of the Military University Hospital in Prague.
“This year marks the 40 th anniversary of the first officially diagnosed AIDS cases. HIV treatment has made huge leaps forward since then and I am proud that our company has been able to make significant contributions to HIV treatment development. Although we still do not have a definitive cure for HIV, most people who contract the virus can manage the infection with drugs and expect to live more or less to the same age as their HIV-free peers,” says Neil McDonald, General Manager of GSK Czech Republic, adding: “I am happy that GSK was once again able to offer to Czech experts an opportunity meet and debate with leading international figures and share their experience, expertise and scientific progress in this area.”
By fostering co-operation between Czech and foreign experts, GSK/ViiV Healthcare has been able to establish an international platform for regular discussions and exchange of ideas on HIV-related topics. In just a few years, the symposium has been recognised as a valuable event appreciated by both HIV treatment professionals in the Czech Republic and international experts.
GSK/ViiV Healthcare is a pharmaceutical company that has invested a lot of effort, time and financial means into HIV research and development, especially in treatment of patients with serious multi-resistance complications. The company has also devoted considerable investment into the development of long-acting drugs.