The 10 Leading Patient Engagement Solution Providers in 2018 Leading Patient Engagement small | Page 23

Stopping the
replication of HIV
Last year in a clinical trial
scien sts showed that this
approach has the poten al to
become a func onal cure for HIV.
The key to its poten al is that it
can target the reservoir of HIV
viruses that “hide” inac ve
within our cells. Current
therapies suppress the virus in
circula on by inhibi ng the
forma on of new viruses, but
they don't touch the reservoir.
Once you stop, the virus comes
back in 10-14 days. ABX464 is the
first drug candidate ever shown
to reduce the HIV reservoir. The
drug, called ABX464, binds to a
specific sequence in the RNA of
the virus, inhibi ng its
replica on.
Shock and kill
Another approach that is
becoming popular in the fight
against HIV also goes a er the
hidden HIV reservoir. The “shock
and kill” or “kick and kill”
approach uses latency-reversing
agents (LRAs) that ac vate or
“kick” the latent HIV reservoir,
making it possible for standard
an retroviral therapy to “kill”
these viruses. In 2016, a group of
UK universi es reported
promising results from one
pa ent treated with this
approach. A similar strategy
using vaccine is currently being
tested. One s mulates the
produc on of an bodies that
block the replica on of HIV, while
the other a acks the reservoir.
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