The 20 Most Disruptive Healthcare Solution providers The 20 Most Disruptive Healthcare Solution Provide | Page 37
01
STOPPING THE REPLICATION OF HIV
Last year in a clinical trial scientists showed that this
approach has the potential to become a functional
cure for HIV. The key to its potential is that it can
target the reservoir of HIV viruses that “hide”
inactive within our cells. Current therapies
suppress the virus in circulation by inhibiting the
formation of new viruses, but they don't touch the
reservoir. Once you stop, the virus comes back in
10-14 days. ABX464 is the rst drug candidate
ever shown to reduce the HIV reservoir. The drug,
called ABX464, binds to a specic sequence in the
RNA of the virus, inhibiting its replication.
02
SHOCK AND KILL
Another approach that is becoming popular in the ght
against HIV also goes after the hidden HIV reservoir. The
“shock and kill” or “kick and kill” approach uses latency-
reversing agents (LRAs) that activate or “kick” the latent
HIV reservoir, making it possible for standard
antiretroviral therapy to “kill” these viruses. In 2016, a
group of UK universities reported promising results from
one patient treated with this approach. A similar strategy
using vaccine is currently being tested. One stimulates
the production of antibodies that block the replication of
HIV, while the other attacks the reservoir.
35 |November 2018 |