Day 2 at AIDS 2024: NIH Research Updates, Inequities, U=U, and Doxy PrEP

On Tuesday at IAS’s AIDS 2024 in Munich, Germany, HIV.gov continued its daily coverage. Here are four updates:

NIH

Louis Shackelford of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network spoke with Dr. Carl DieffenbachExit Disclaimer, Director of the Division of AIDS at NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. They discussed the case report of the “Next Berlin patient,” a person living with HIV who is now in remission off of antiretroviral therapy following a stem cell transplant. Dr. Dieffenbach explained that this transplant was unique because both the donor and the recipient had a genetic makeup not previously seen in similar HIV cure case reports. They also discussed how this approach is only possible in unique circumstances when someone has a condition such as a cancer that requires a stem cell transplant, and discussed other approaches being explored for scalable HIV cure. Among them, he discussed the use of HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies—antibodies that bind to parts of HIV that remain relatively stable even when it mutates—in cure research. Finally, they discussed a new analysis from a large study of long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). WatchExit Disclaimer their conversation below:

Dismantling Inequities

Earlier in the day, Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy's Kaye Hayes talked with White House Office of National AIDS Policy Director Francisco RuizExit Disclaimer about a panel he participated in about dismantling inequities that influence the HIV epidemic. Francisco said it is important to tailor interventions and approaches to regions and be intentional about including people with lived experience to help inform policies and programs. ViewExit Disclaimer their conversation below:

U=U University

HIV.gov Director Miguel Gomez spoke with Centers for Disease Control's Monique Carry and PACHA’s Deondre Moore and Jesse MilanExit Disclaimer about the CDC's U=U University and resource guide (PDF, 12.1 MB) developed in partnership with the Prevention Access CampaignExit Disclaimer and released during the pre-conference. The U=U resource guide is a community-led health message and global campaign to communicate the science behind the message of U=U, or undetectable equals untransmittable. Our colleagues also highlighted the important impact U=U is having globally and for individuals with HIV. WatchExit Disclaimer their conversation below:

Doxy PrEP

On Monday, Kaye Hayes spoke with Dr. Troy Grennan, physician lead for the Provincial HIV/STI Program, British Columbia Centre for Disease ControlExit Disclaimer and Clinical Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, about research findings he shared on the potential of doxycycline as pre-exposure prophylaxis for STIs, or Doxy PrEP. While Doxy PrEP is not yet available, the work builds on previous studies. In a small pilot study of men living with HIV, researchers looked at the efficacy, tolerability, and use patterns of Doxy PrEP. They found that doxycycline was well tolerated overall, and observed 79%, 92%, and 68% reductions in syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea respectively in the group who took doxycycline compared to those who took a placebo. View their conversationExit Disclaimer below:

About AIDS 2024

The International AIDS ConferenceExit Disclaimer is the world’s largest conference on HIV and AIDS. Held July 22-26 in Munich, Germany, AIDS 2024 brings together an estimated 15,000 scientists, policymakers, healthcare professionals, people living with HIV, and others at the intersection of science, advocacy, and human rights. The conference features more than 200 sessions, including plenaries, symposia, oral abstracts, workshops, Global Village activities, pre-conferences, and satellites. Visit the conference websiteExit Disclaimer for more information.

Follow, watch, and share our coverage of the conference on HIV.gov’s Facebook pageExit Disclaimer, Twitter/XExit Disclaimer, YouTubeExit Disclaimer, and the LinkedIn pageExit Disclaimer for the HHS Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy.