Can Long-Acting Antiretroviral Therapy Be Successful in PWH Without Virologic Suppression?

Although long-acting antiretroviral therapy (LA-ART) with cabotegravir (CAB) plus rilpivirine (RPV) is a potentially game-changing innovation for persons with HIV (PWH), this approach has been FDA approved only for PWH who are virally suppressed on a stable ART regimen and who do not have resistance to CAB or RPV. Thus, the current approval does not extend these benefits to PWH who have barriers to adherence or are not virally suppressed. In an observational cohort study, investigators assessed the outcomes of LA-ART administered at San Francisco's Ward 86 HIV Clinic to PWH with and without virologic suppression.

Among 133 PWH (median age, 46; 88% cisgender men; 62% nonwhite; 42% unstably housed; 34% with stimulant use), 76 were virally supp…