Episode 3: Nano-medicine shrinks the cost of HIV treatment

Steve Rannard and Andrew Owen are using nano-technology to make HIV medicine more effective and less expensive. Nanomedicine builds tiny particles of medication designed to drive the drug into the bloodstream more effectively. These particles have a diameter 100-times smaller than that of human hair, and less drug is needed to produce the same effect as a normal medicine. Less medicine means lower costs for treatment, which could greatly increase the number of HIV patients that can receive therapy in low to middle income countries. Steve Rannard is a professor of Chemistry at the University of Liverpool. Andrew Owen is a professor of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Liverpool. Their research is supported by grants from: Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), National Institutes for Health (NIH), European Commission, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) Theme music is “Tech Strings” by Dave Depper.