The Wall Street star went public with his HIV positive status in November last year (15), announcing that he had been diagnosed with the virus in 2011.
In January (16), Charlie announced he had stopped taking the medication designed to prevent his condition progressing to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the deadly phase of the disease, in favour of alternative medicine.
However, the star says he is now part of an American clinical trial which sees him receive an injection of PRO 140, a new drug designed to prevent the virus infecting healthy cells, and as a result his health is improving.
“I’m actually involved in a FDA (America's Food and Drug Administration) trial where it’s going to change the immediate landscape of HIV treatment," he tells Britain's i newspaper. "It’s a company called CytoDyn and a treatment called PRO 140. And instead of taking the pills every day, it’s one shot every week.
“So I go to my doctor and he administers that. I’m in my third week of that and I already feel amazing, because taking those pills every day, it’s a bit toxic you know. This is quite the opposite, so we’re really excited about the prospect of that."
The 50-year-old star admits that his attempt to seek alternative treatment, which saw him travel to Mexico and take a goat milk based remedy designed to cure the disease, was misguided.
“I had that episode in Mexico with the charlatan, so that was kind of a mess,” he adds.
In January (16), the doctor who treated him in Mexico, Sam Chachoua claimed he had saved the troubled star's life. Chachoua is an Australian born alternative medicine practitioner, who trained as a medical doctor. However, he is reportedly not licensed to practice medicine in Australia or the United States and his claims of being able to offer effective alternative therapies for cancer and HIV are disputed by medical authorities.
"Charlie had severe encephalitis he had severe liver failure from the medication – and the alcohol, probably," the medic told U.S. TV host Bill Maher. "He was just in a horrible, depressed way. And as soon as I saw him I had to fix the liver failure, I had to try and clear the encephalitis, which was killing him. And I managed to do that," claimed Chachoua.
The troubled star subsequently appeared on America's Dr. Oz Show in February (16) to debunk Chachoua's claims and spoke about his desire to join the PRO 140 drug trial.
"I'm very excited about this," he said. "These are scientists and brilliant doctors and researchers... There's absolute transparency. There's no back rooms or hidden agenda."
In order to receive the drug, which is in the final stages of being assessed by U.S. authorities, Charlie had to undergo an extensive screening process.
With his health apparently improving, Charlie plans to travel to London in June (16) to be interviewed on stage by British broadcaster Piers Morgan.
