Promising Results of Triple Antibody Therapy For Long-Term HIV Control: Randomized Trial Finds
In a study of 12 participants, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have demonstrated that a cocktail of three broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAb) successfully suppressed the virus in people living with HIV.
A subset of participants also demonstrated long-term control of the virus months after antibody levels declined to low or undetectable. The findings were published in Nature Medicine.
“Our data suggest that the triple broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAb) cocktail can lead to virologic control for a prolonged period of time in most people living with HIV following ART discontinuation,” said co-corresponding author Dan H. Barouch, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at BIDMC. “Larger studies are planned based on these results.”
HIV remains a global public health challenge. While ART a combination of drugs typically taken daily has transformed HIV from a fatal illness into a manageable long-term condition, it does not eliminate the virus. The antibody cocktail tested in this study could offer an alternative that reduces reliance on daily medication.
To evaluate the safety, tolerability, and antiviral effect of the combination of three broadly neutralizing antibodies, Barouch and colleagues enrolled 12 volunteers living with HIV to receive three monthly infusions of the triple-antibody cocktail, with the option of receiving three more as long as participants remained virologically suppressed. Participants discontinued ART two days after their first antibody infusion.
“Overall, our study showed that three anti-HIV antibodies with significant breadth of neutralization were actually able to maintain virological suppression in the absence of ART at least during the dosing period in a majority of the participants,” said co-corresponding author Boris Juelg, MD, PhD, a principal investigator at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard. “In a smaller subset, this control was maintained up to week 44 even when the antibodies had reached very low levels in the blood. Future studies are now needed to determine the exact mechanisms of control and how long it can last.”
Reference: Julg, B., Walker-Sperling, V.E.K., Wagh, K. et al. Safety and antiviral effect of a triple combination of HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies: a phase 1/2a trial. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03247-5
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