HIV Prevention Breakthroughs Take Center Stage at HIVR4P 2024 Conference

Lima, Peru – The 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P 2024) is underway in Lima, Peru, and virtually, from October 6 to 10. The conference is a global gathering of scientists, researchers, and healthcare professionals focused on the rapidly evolving field of HIV prevention research. Among the scientific highlights is the presentation of new data from the PURPOSE 2 study, which demonstrates the efficacy and safety of twice-yearly lenacapavir for HIV prevention.

According to the study’s principal investigator, Colleen Kelley of Emory University, the trial showed that only two HIV acquisitions occurred among 2,184 participants who received subcutaneous lenacapavir every six months. This represents a significant reduction in HIV acquisitions, with a 96% decrease compared to background HIV incidence. The study also demonstrated superiority to daily F/TDF for HIV prevention.

The PURPOSE 2 study enrolled HIV-negative individuals, including cisgender gay, bisexual, and other men, trans women, trans men, and gender non-binary individuals, in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and the United States. The findings confirm the potential of lenacapavir for PrEP to transform the global HIV prevention landscape for people of all genders.

Beatriz Grinsztejn, President of the International AIDS Society (IAS), emphasized the importance of planning for a rapid and equitable global rollout of this new prevention tool. She commended Gilead Sciences for signing voluntary licensing agreements with generic manufacturers to increase access to lenacapavir in high-incidence, resource-limited countries. However, she expressed concern that these agreements do not cover large parts of the world, including the majority of countries in Latin America.

Other scientific highlights at HIVR4P 2024 include evidence that the three-month dapivirine vaginal ring is pharmacokinetically superior to the monthly ring, a study finding moderate uptake of the dapivirine vaginal ring among women in Africa, and a drug-agnostic transcutaneously refillable subdermal implant that provides ultra-long-acting delivery of antiretrovirals for HIV prevention.

The conference is hosted by the IAS and brings together the global scientific community to address the biggest challenges and opportunities in HIV prevention, including vaccines, microbicides, PrEP, treatment as prevention, and biomedical interventions, as well as the social and behavioral implications of these advances.

This year’s conference is being held in Latin America for the first time, providing an opportunity to highlight HIV prevention needs in the region. Grinsztejn emphasized the urgent need to scale up HIV prevention efforts across Latin America, where HIV is on the rise, with new HIV acquisitions increasing by 9% between 2010 and 2023 despite expanded access to antiretroviral therapy.