By: Bunmi Yekini
In a groundbreaking study presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) 2024, researchers found that injectable HIV treatment with cabotegravir and rilpivirine was just as effective in maintaining viral suppression as traditional oral antiretroviral therapy. The study, which took place across Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda, is the first of its kind in Africa.
Professor Nicholas Paton of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who led the trial, said the results were promising: “The findings of the study are an essential first step in discussing the role of injectable cabotegravir and rilpivirine in African treatment programs.”
The study involved 512 participants, 57% of whom were women, and lasted for 96 weeks. Participants who received the injectable treatment achieved similar viral suppression rates to those on oral therapy. At week 48, 96.9% of participants in the injectable group had viral loads below 50 copies/ml compared to 97.3% in the standard treatment group.
The trial revealed key considerations regarding the body’s ability to absorb the medication based on body fat distribution, a concern particularly for women. Despite some resistance to rilpivirine and cabotegravir, viral suppression rates remained high. Paton noted, “We were concerned that subtype A1 might prove less susceptible, but the results show that subtype A1 is sufficiently different from A6 to respond well.”
As the research progresses, Paton emphasized the importance of further investigation: “There are so many things we need to do before this would translate into a World Health Organization public health recommendation.”