HIV treatment could be on sale in three years

A treatment for the HIV virus could be on the market in three years, it was claimed today.

A firm is calling for full clinical trials for a drug it has developed with scientists at London University.

Medical Marketing International said in early tests the drug destroyed 70 per cent of a "chemical messenger" which lets the virus grow in human cells.

Shares in the firm rose by 20 per cent to 42.5p as a result of the trials.

Current treatment for HIV, which affects about 40 million people across the world, involves slowing down the virus once it is in the body.

MMI chairman David Best said: "Tests are encouraging and we hope to be doing clinical trials within a year."