For people living with HIV, the single greatest achievement to date has been the emergence of antiretroviral treatments (ART) that completely block the virus, resulting in reduced mortality and morbidity and improved quality of life. But taking one pill a day for life cannot be the end of this journey, speakers said during the International AIDS Society meeting held July 23 to 26 in Brisbane, Australia.
For people living with HIV, the single greatest achievement to date has been the emergence of antiretroviral treatments (ART) that completely block the virus, resulting in reduced mortality and morbidity and improved quality of life. But taking one pill a day for life cannot be the end of this journey, speakers said during the International AIDS Society meeting held July 23 to 26 in Brisbane, Australia. Even with the success of ART, drug adherence remains a problem due to pill fatigue or depression and other mental health conditions, as well as drug-drug interactions, said Claudia Cortes, associate professor at the University of Chile in Santiago. New drugs that are longer lasting, more convenient, and affordable are desperately needed, she said.
Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) have the potential to prevent HIV, and more researchers are turning to bNAbs as an alternative to antiretroviral therapy (ART), speakers said during the International AIDS Society meeting held July 23 to 26 in Brisbane, Australia. However, for a cure, the viral reservoir that is formed in the early stages of HIV remains an obstacle, and recent studies suggest that controlling or eliminating the HIV reservoir with bNAbs might be possible.