Posted on January 27, 2020
Source: NIH
"The first clinical trial to test the combination of a long-acting anti-HIV drug plus a powerful HIV antibody as a long-acting treatment for people living with HIV has begun. Investigators are studying whether long-acting cabotegravir and an antibody called VRC07-523LS are safe and tolerable and prevent HIV from rebounding to detectable levels in people who previously kept the virus suppressed with daily antiretroviral therapy. NIAID is sponsoring and funding the Phase 2 trial, called A5357, which is being conducted by the NIAID-funded AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG)."
"Current treatment for HIV involves taking two or more antiretroviral drugs in tablet form daily, often as a single pill. Sticking to a daily drug regimen can be difficult for some people, however, so scientists are researching new HIV treatment regimens that involve a dose of medication just once a month or even less frequently. Already, two Phase 3 clinical trials have demonstrated that a monthly injection of long-acting formulations of the antiretroviral drugs cabotegravir and rilpivirine effectively treats HIV in adults."
"While some scientists are developing long-acting formulations of antiretroviral drugs, other researchers are exploring the potential of powerful anti-HIV antibodies as a form of long-acting HIV treatment. These antibodies, which some people with HIV naturally produce a few months or years after acquiring the virus, are described as “broadly neutralizing” because they can stop a wide variety of HIV strains from infecting immune cells in the laboratory. Investigators have begun clinical trials of pairs of these broadly neutralizing antibodies, or bNAbs, for both long-acting HIV treatment and HIV prevention."
