HIV Prevention News Around The Globe

Injectable treatment for adolescents living with HIV

Although adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is paramount for treatment success, the need to swallow pills daily can be a challenge for some. With the advent of simplified combination ART with fewer side-effects and once-a-day dosing, we have seen improved longevity in adults and children living with HIV but not among adolescents living with HIV globally. In 2015, UNAIDS reported that HIV/AIDS was the leading cause of death among adolescents in Africa, and it remains a killer in this age group. Most reasons for lack of treatment success involve difficulties of taking daily oral ART during this transitional life period, and numerous publications describe how adherence to daily medication for adolescents is challenging.

One solution is to reformulate chronic medication in a longer-acting, more discreet form that requires less frequent dosing. For example, we know that long-acting reversible contraceptive options such as implants or injectables are both more acceptable and result in better reproductive outcomes, compared with oral medication taken daily, even in younger women. A recent HIV prevention study among adolescent women compared twice-yearly injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with standard daily oral PrEP (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate); the results showed that injections had near perfect on-time administration, resulting in excellent efficacy compared with daily oral pill use, which started well in terms of adherence but rapidly declined over time.

Read more here.

Are we on the path to end AIDS by 2030?

The reality is a mix of yes and no while the facts shared in the latest report by UNAIDS reveal that as a world we are not already on the path, they do show that we can be there if world leaders take bold actions ensuring that the HIV response has the resources it needs.

Progress made in the past decade notwithstanding, there is still a huge gap between the targets set up to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The UNAIDS report- The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads- shows that globally, of the 39.9 million people living with HIV, nearly 25% (9.3 million), are not receiving life-saving treatment, including 660,000 children living with HIV. Globally, 4,000 young women and girls will become infected with HIV every week in 2022.

“We have to fill the product introduction gap - accelerate time to regulatory approvals of product introduction to impact; demand creation and programme platforms for prevention; and differentiated and integrated service delivery for people. We must also fill the product development gap - long acting and event driven; user-friendly and developed with users; dual purpose and multi-purpose methods must be our top priority,” says Mitchell Warren, Executive Director of AVAC.

PrEP is one of the new HIV prevention options for HIV-negative people who can reduce the risk of HIV acquisition by taking an antiretroviral medication and the latest addition is the long acting injectable lenacapavir that has been found to be highly effective in preventing HIV in cisgender women as well as in gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Read more on the article here

Groups With Highest Unmet Need for PrEP Highlighted in Analysis

Continuing their journey to develop a vaccine for HIV, Oregon Health & Science University researchers have identified a gene that could have prevented their vaccine from working in humans.

The study, published Oct. 11 in Science Immunology, removes one more barrier to developing a vaccine for HIV, and potentially other diseases such as malaria and cancer.

Daniel Malouli, Ph.D., assistant professor in the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute and lead author on the study, said the research team looked at whether human cytomegalovirus, or HCMV, has additional genes that could prevent a particular immune response which would keep their vaccine from working against HIV.

In previous studies, the team's research with nonhuman primates showed that vaccines based on rhesus CMV, called RhCMV, trigger unique T cell responses not seen with any other vaccine. They found that these unique immune responses are essential for rhesus CMV-based vaccines to be effective against SIV, the pathogen most used to model HIV/AIDS in nonhuman primates.

Human and rhesus CMV are similar, and in past studies, OHSU researchers at the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute discovered that rhesus CMV needs certain genes turned off to trigger these unique immune responses. This is the result of decades of work by the research team led by VGTI associate director Louis Picker, M.D., and professors Klaus Früh, Ph.D., and Scott Hansen, Ph.D.

Read more on the study here

Soundbytes

Health Report: Zambia launches injectable HIV prevention drug

Earlier this year, Zambia launched the use of an injectable HIV prevention drug that blocks the HIV replication process and almost eliminates a person’s chance of contracting HIV, according to experts. Zambia is the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to offer the pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP injectable, also known as long-acting cabotegravir CAB-LA.

Listen to an interview with Lackeby Kawanga, Director of Technical Services for global health care nonprofit JSI, for the USAID DISCOVER project in Zambia, to learn more about this innovative approach to HIV prevention.

Listen to the interview here

Opportunities

WEBINAR: "Debunking Myths and Exploring the Latest Research in HIV Prevention"

Are you ready to debunk HIV prevention myths and discover the latest research? Join Faith, one of the 2024 Youth Cohort Mentees, in an upcoming webinar titled "Debunking Myths and Exploring the Latest Research in HIV Prevention." Learn how to advocate for optimal HIV prevention products and services, and gain insights into the latest strategies to combat HIV. Don't miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge and empower yourself to make a difference.

Date: Thursday, November 7th 2024

Time: 1500 Hrs SAST/1600 Hrs EAT/1400 Hrs WAT

Please mark your calendars and register your attendance here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

2nd African Workshop on Women & HIV 2025

The second edition of the African Workshop on Women & HIV will take place in a live format on 27 - 28 February 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya.

This exciting initiative is a regional workshop paired to the annual “International Workshop on Women & HIV”. It is an outstanding opportunity for both local and international healthcare providers, researchers, government, industry, and community representatives to discuss and further increase their knowledge on the issues related to HIV and women living in Africa.

The primary purpose of this workshop is to support changes that will provide a better quality of life for women living with HIV and reduce HIV transmissions in the region.

The format of the workshop enables attendees to learn from renowned HIV experts, discuss challenges, gaps, and opportunities for further learning and research. It also provides a forum for early-career investigators to present their research and to personally meet with experts they view as mentors and inspiration for their work.

Registration link: https://virology.eventsair.com/african-workshop-on-women-hiv-2025/registation/Site/Register

Abstract Submission link: https://virology.eventsair.com/african-workshop-on-women-hiv-2025/abstracts