HIV Treatment Overview

Long-acting therapies are an emerging strategy for HIV treatment after decades of oral options. As of 2019, only 57% of individuals with HIV have achieved viral suppression. Long-acting antiretroviral therapy (ART) has the potential to benefit broader populations than have been included in clinical trials to date, especially those adherence challenges to daily oral ART. These population groups include African American and Latino men who have sex with men, transgender women, youth, substance users, unhoused individuals, sex workers, and those who live in rural communities. Long-acting ART can simplify treatment access and monitoring with a directly observed intermittent doses (e.g. monthly, every other monthly etc).

Aim

There is a gap in knowledge about the real-world feasibility and success of long-acting injectables (or other drug delivery modalities) in populations with adherence challenges, generally excluded from clinical research evaluating new treatments. The Forum for Collaborative Research aims to host a one-day roundtable-style workshop focused on how to study and evaluate long-acting ART to overcome adherence barriers among these communities in the United States. We will discuss key questions such as how to broaden inclusion criteria to make space for underrepresented populations in treatment trials or what regimens work best paired with adherence strategies. As we make strides in ending the HIV epidemic in the United States, the Forum emphasizes that this is only possible if we develop strategies to successfully achieve viral suppression among those who are unable to adhere to daily pill taking. The workshop will include representatives from all stakeholder groups, including the patient community, the ACTG, the NIH (OAR, NIAID/DAIDS, NIMH, NIDA), HRSA, VA, FDA, clinical researchers, and industry sponsors.