AVAC in the News
“Weakening fundamental scientific infrastructure now risks slowing progress well beyond HIV to other disease areas.”
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#Aids2026: Daily pill. Monthly pill. Six-monthly jab. Why choice matters
Merck has announced licensing agreements to produce oral PrEP candidate MK-8527, or alimatravir, while final trials are still underway. This announcement reflects responsiveness to advocates' calls to accelerate access to PrEP options. “We don’t yet know if the medicine will work, so it’s a risk that Merck is taking, but it’s, in my opinion, a wise and strategically-taken risk,” AVAC's Executive Director Mitchell Warren told Bhekisisa.
Source: Bhekisisa
The ‘cruel irony’ of great science, terrible politics and economics in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention | AIDS 2026
In this interview with Managed Healthcare Executive, AVAC's Executive Director Mitchell Warren discusses how health officials and others are trying to translate a wave of promising HIV prevention and treatment science into real-world impact at a time when program capacity has been badly strained because of U.S. cuts. "I think, in some ways, the science is stronger than ever to support the ambition of ending AIDS by 2030 as a public health threat. And yet, the cruel irony — it's coming at what had been a terrible political and economic situation a year ago, and it's gotten even worse."
Source: Managed Healthcare Executive
Merck Secures Early Generic Deals to Fast-Track Monthly HIV Prevention Pill
Merck has announced early licensing agreements for its once-monthly HIV prevention pill, aiming to guarantee access for 129 developing nations.
Source: Streamline
A rocky rollout
Lenacapavir holds tremendous promise, but supply is falling short. “Our greatest scientific opportunity in my 35 years working in the field has been met by the most outrageous political and economic decision imaginable,” AVAC's Executive Director Mitchell Warren told Science.
Source: Science
An HIV vaccine is within reach
The momentum behind developing an HIV vaccine has increased in recent years, but sudden cuts to research and increased political scrutiny have threatened progress. "That’s a perfect storm to prevent us from building on the most exciting science HIV vaccines have had in 45 years,” AVAC's Executive Director Mitchell Warren tells Vox.
Source: Vox
In ongoing trials, twice-yearly HIV prevention drug saw just one case
As lenacapavir is rolled out in 10 African countries, new findings indicate that the twice-yearly injection is highly effective for people who adhere to it. Also important: It is extremely popular. "Not only is this data reassuring for safety and efficacy, but it is a loud signal that the field needs to move with even greater speed, scale and equity in translating these results into public health impact," AVAC Executive Director Mitchell Warren tells Devex.
Source: Devex
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The Future of the HIV Response: Sustaining Progress in an era of Political Uncertainty and Scientific Opportunity
Significant progress has been made in expanding access to HIV treatment and prevention, but major gaps in coverage and equity were further exacerbated and destabilized by changes in US government support in January 2025. This commentary by AVAC's Executive Director Mitchell Warren examines the implications of this divergence and argues that the future of the HIV response depends less on new biomedical discoveries than on the capacity to deliver existing and emerging options sustainably and with speed, scale and equity.
Source: American Journal of Reproductive Immunology
The Future of PrEP: Lenacapavir and the Fight for Access
AVAC's Executive Director Mitchell Warren joined ITPC’s Make Medicines Affordable podcast to discuss the future of PrEP. While Lenacapavir is a transformative option for HIV prevention, Warren shares what it will take to ensure it reaches the people who need it most.
Source: Make Medicines Affordable
Advancing the inclusion of pregnant and lactating populations in HIV PrEP research: ethical, regulatory, and surveillance recommendations from a multisectoral working group
Approximately one-quarter of vertical HIV transmissions are linked to infections during pregnancy and lactation, yet data on PrEP use in these populations remains generally limited due to their exclusion from clinical trials. A multisectoral working group, including AVAC's executive director Mitchell Warren, held meetings and a scientific symposium to inform evidence-based strategies for improving the inclusion of pregnant and lactating women in PrEP trials. They recommend reframing pregnant and lactating women as needing protection through research, alongside standardized data systems, stronger incentives, global collaboration, and digital innovation to ensure equitable inclusion in HIV prevention efforts.
Source: Frontiers in Public Health
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NIH Budget Cuts Threaten HIV Research
For Think Global Health, AVAC's Director of Research Engagement Stacey Hannah and Executive Director Mitchell Warren co-authored a piece warning that the Trump administration's proposed funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health could derail the vaccine needed to end HIV. "Vaccine science is cumulative: today's breakthroughs depend on decades of investment," wrote Hannah and Mitchell.
Source: Think Global Health
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