CROI 2020 Report Back

March 16, 2020

CROI (Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections) was scheduled in Boston from 8-11 March 2020. However, with the growing COVID-19 outbreak in the USA, the conference program was transferred to a virtual/digital format. This report back has been provided by NAPWHA Senior Research Manager, Dr John Rule, who has selected some snippets of information, which he has curated our NAPWHA member organisations and NAPWHA Treatment Officer Network.

Prof. Sharon Lewin of the University of Melbourne was one of the first speakers at CROI 2020 and here is her take home slide from her presentation titled ‘HIV Cure from Bench to Bedside’. It is forward looking with a few question marks. Access the presentation webcast recording via the www.croiwebcasts.org

The ‘London’ Patient

Ravindra Gupta first presenting the case at CROI 2019 in Seattle. Photo by Liz Highleyman.

A London man continues to have no detectable HIV 30 months after stopping antiretroviral therapy, according to a report by Professor Ravindra Gupta of University College London at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2020). When his case was first presented at CROI 2019, he was known simply as the ‘London patient’, but on Monday he, Adam Castillejo, went public with an interview in The New York Times. The latest findings strongly suggest that Castillejo has joined Timothy Ray Brown, formerly known as the ‘Berlin patient’, as the second person to have been cured of HIV.

Weight Gain on ARV Treatment

Weight gain after starting antiretroviral treatment is likely to raise the risk of diabetes but does not push up cardiovascular disease risk, two large analyses presented to CROI 2020 show.

Several randomised clinical trials carried out in sub-Saharan Africa and cohort studies in North America and Europe have shown substantial weight gain occurs after starting antiretroviral treatment, particularly in black women and people exposed to both dolutegravir and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF).

 

Long Acting Injectables

Long-acting injectables might be administered every two months

A combination of two long-acting injectable drugs administered every two months suppresses HIV viral load as well as monthly injections, according to a report at CROI 2020.

Treatment that can be taken every other month would improve convenience and possibly adherence. However, in this study, those who received the every-other-month regimen were more likely to develop resistance if they did not maintain viral suppression.

Other interesting CROI 2020 links