After finding an investigational drug to be safe and well-tolerated by human subjects in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials, Merck Sharp & Dohme, a subsidiary of Merck & Co, is beginning two Phase 3 clinical trials to study the drug’s efficacy in preventing HIV-1 infections in both African women and an international sample of men who have sex with men. There are currently HIV prevention drugs on the market, but they can be cost prohibitive. If approved, this drug could be manufactured at extremely low cost, potentially making it available for a wider population. However intellectual property and licensing arrangements, rather than production cost, may determine whether the drug will indeed be sold at a reasonable price.
A team at University Health Network (UHN), Unity Health Toronto and the University of Toronto have reported the first Canadian case of sustained HIV remission. The individual was first diagnosed with HIV in 1999 and developed acute myelogenous leukemia in 2021. He underwent a bone marrow transplant with donor stem cells containing a rare “delta-32” mutation. Individuals with a delta-32 mutation are resistant to HIV infection. The procedure poses significant risk to a patient and should only be considered for patients who require a transplant to treat a life-threatening blood cancer and is not a standard treatment for HIV. But researchers can use the findings from this event to develop a treatment with similar outcomes.
While the jury is still out on the long term effects of the Trump administrations’ funding cuts to HIV treatment and prevention, these stories are encouraging.
