(The Telegraph) HIV patients can be drug-free for up to two years under a treatment that ends the need for daily pills.
A new antibody cocktail has been shown to successfully suppress the virus in a trial led by Imperial College London.
Currently, people with HIV must take antiretroviral therapy (ART), which is not a cure but stops the virus from making copies of itself, allowing the immune system to repair and preventing the progression to Aids.
The new treatment is a mixture of two broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs) – specialised immune proteins that latch on to viruses or bacteria, acting like a physical shield to stop them entering cells.
In a randomised controlled trial involving 68 people, 75 per cent of participants were able to stop their ART for at least five months, while about half maintained viral control for one year and a quarter for two years.
The team now wants to study the people who lasted the longest to see if they can replicate – or even extend – the effects for everyone.
‘New possibilities’
Prof Sarah Fidler, of Imperial College London, said: “This is the first time a bNAb-based therapy has demonstrated viral load control of this duration and magnitude in a randomised placebo-controlled trial.
“These results open new possibilities for HIV treatment and bring us closer to our goal of finding a cure.”