Once-Weekly Oral Therapy for HIV Infection

Clinical Takeaway

: Patients with virologic suppression who switched to once-weekly islatravir plus lenacapavir were just as likely to maintain suppression as those who remained on once-daily therapy.

Context

Most people who are currently prescribed antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection receive a one-pill, once-daily regimen, both in the United States and globally. These regimens are highly effective in achieving sustained virologic suppression, but the requirement for daily adherence remains an obstacle. Could longer-acting agents lead to better outcomes?

To test this idea, researchers conducted a phase 2, randomized trial among 104 adults who had reached virologic suppression (viral load <50 copies/mL) while taking daily coformulated bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide. Half the patients continued this daily oral regimen, while the other half switched to weekly oral islatravir (a nucleoside reverse transcriptase tran…

Reviewing Author

Carlos del Rio, M.D.

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Editorial BoardsJAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes; Vaccines

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesInternational Antiviral Society–USA (Board of Directors); Infectious Diseases Society of America (Past President)