Global Investment in HIV Cure Research & Development in 2021
A decade of progress
Language for HIV Cure
This document shares up-to-date, community-preferred terminology within cure research.
The Case For an HIV Cure and How to Get There
Viewpoint appearing in The Lancet HIV
Appearing in The Lancet HIV: We propose steps to plan for an HIV cure now, including defining a target product profile and establishing the HIV Cure Africa Acceleration Partnership (HCAAP), a multidisciplinary public-private partnership that will catalyse and promote HIV cure research through diverse stakeholder engagement. HCAAP will convene stakeholders, including people living with HIV, at an early stage to accelerate the design, social acceptability, and rapid adoption of HIV-cure products.
Avac Event
IAS (International AIDS Society) 2023
The 12th annual conference of the International AIDS Society (IAS) on HIV science takes place July 23–26 in Brisbane, Australia, and virtually. This year’s conference will offer the latest on vaccine and cure science, research updates on broadly neutralizing antibodies, important discussions on trial design in the era of PrEP, the potential of community-led models of care and the importance of integrating services for HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). AVAC and partners will be there! Read on for an overview.
Just ahead of the conference, UNAIDS released their annual state of the epidemic report, The Path that Ends AIDS. The report charts a path that can end AIDS, and documents important progress, but challenges remain. Among them, global resources for HIV are marking another year of decline. With anti-LGTBQIA+ legal actions increasing in the US and in several African countries and reduced resources, efforts to end the epidemic will fail. See AVAC’s new graphic on the issue.
IAS Resources
- Use AVAC’s Roadmap to find sessions where prevention, pandemic preparedness and the larger issues of global health equity are in the spotlight. You can download it as a sortable spreadsheet or PDF.
- Follow events in real time, AVAC will offer comments and updates on Twitter, and our friends at NAM/AIDSMAP will be reporting throughout the conference. Join the conversation using the conference hashtag #IAS2023.
Satellites, Sessions and Panels Featuring AVAC and Partners
All times listed are local in Brisbane, Australia. Click for a time zone converter.
Sunday, July 23
- Taking prevention to the next level: Packaging PrEP with primary health care services as a pathway to achieving 2030 HIV prevention and universal health coverage goals — satellite session, 11:30-12:30 pm AEST, Plaza Auditorium Channel 4
- Regaining lost ground for HIV prevention: Acting on lessons learned from oral PrEP scale-up new PrEP method mix — satellite session, 1:00-2:30 pm AEST, Plaza Auditorium Channel 4
Tuesday, July 25
- Next Gen HIV Prevention research: Clinical Trials in an era of highly effective standards of care — satellite session, 6:30-8:00 pm AEST, Plaza Ballroom Channel 3
- bnAbs: From prevention to cure — satellite session, 6:30-8:00 pm AEST, Boulevard Auditorium Channel 7
Wednesday, July 26
- Our bodies, our science: Empowering and promoting community engagement and practices in science — symposium session 17, 10:30-11:30 am AEST, Plaza Terrace Room/Channel 2
- Immune responses critical for viral control and approaches to harness them in vivo — Symposium session 20, 10:30-11:30 am AEST, Auditorium/Channel 7
Poster Presentations
- No Data No More: A tool to end the exclusion of trans and gender-diverse people in HIV research
- Raising New Voices in HIV Cure Research: A review of an advocacy-for-cure academy and grant program
- The Value of Measuring Outcomes of HIV Advocacy: Utilising a novel and participatory approach for advocacy evaluation
- HIV Prevention Research & Development Investments 2001-2021: Shifting investment priorities fund innovation in a challenging global health landscape
- Revolution of Transgender Health Programming: The role of transgender activists in Health programming for Malawi
While many will be gathering in Australia for the IAS conference, the 27th International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research (ISSTDR)is happening in Chicago at the same time – and AVAC will be there, too. Stay tuned for an update later this week for AVAC’s STI Roadmap and dedicated STI conference page. Advocates, implementers and researchers in both fields have much work to do together.
Avac Event
HIV Cure Research and The Black Diaspora: Reaching critical voices
Join the REACH collaboratory on May 3 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM ET at African Services (427 W 127th St. in Harlem) for a conversation on the importance of engaging diverse populations at every stage of HIV cure research! Food and Drinks Provided from Maison Harlem and doors open at 6:00 PM ET. Help us get the right amount of food by registering in advance!
More info in the flier below:
Avac Event
A Conversation with The London Patient: The second known person cured of HIV
Join us for a conversation with The London Patient, Adam Castillejo — only the second person cured of HIV. He will share his experience with the procedure that ultimately eradicated HIV from his body, why people should be hopeful about the state of the research, and what his life is like after HIV. Attendees will be able to ask questions and take photos with Adam after the event.
Avac Event
When Cure Means Control: An introduction to viral control off therapy
Tuesday, March 28 at 9:00 am ET
As the number of cure-related clinical trials grows, so does the number of people experiencing month-long delays in viral rebound. A very small handful of participants remain off therapy long after the trial ends. These individuals who can control HIV without therapy after an intervention are known as controllers.
This webinar will:
-Introduce the concept of viral control off therapy
-Provide a platform to ask experts questions on HIV control
-Introduce key issues advocates should be following
Featuring Jon LI, Harvard University; Marina Caskey, Rockefeller University; Ann Chahroudi, Emory School of Medicine, Josephine Nabukenya, EGPAF Board Member and IAS Governing Council Member, and moderated by Jessica Salzwedel, AVAC
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Breaking Down the Latest in HIV Cure Research: What do new data mean for people living with HIV
Researchers broke down the recent case of HIV cure, the first among women. Speakers also provided updates from an ongoing trial studying pediatric remission. Participants learned what these advances mean for science and for people living with HIV.
Featuring:
- Dr. Yvonne Bryson, University of California at Los Angeles
- Dr. Deborah Persaud, Johns Hopkins University
- Bridgette Picou, The Well Project CAB Co-Chair and Columnist “Being Bridgette” Positively Aware Magazine
Watch the recording:
Avac Event
Investment and Engagement in HIV Cure Research: Looking Ahead
On Wednesday, October 27th, we held a webinar to discuss the state of global HIV cure investment and how Martin Delaney Collaboratory (MDC) is making investments in cure research and working with communities. The webinar featured the growing investment in both the science and stakeholder engagement of HIV cure and included an overview of the HIV cure research funding landscape, a history of the MDC program and a panel discussion.
Speakers and Panelists
Speakers:
- Kevin Fisher, AVAC
- Karl Salzwedel, NIAID
Panel Moderator:
- Jessica Salzwedel, AVAC
Panelists:
- Dixon Diallo, SisterLove President & ERASE-HIV Community Partner (US)
- Dr. Deanna Kulpa, ERASE-HIV PI (US)
- Josephine Nabukenya, EGPAF & IAS-AVAC HIV Cure Fellow (Uganda)
Recording and Slides: YouTube / Kevin Fisher’s Slides / Karl Salzwedel’s Slides
Avac Event
Paving the way for an HIV cure: Introducing Target Product Profiles (TPP) and the HIV Cure Africa Acceleration Partnership (HCAAP)
On Tuesday, December 8 at 11am ET, the International AIDS Society’s Towards an HIV Cure initiative is hosting a webinar, Paving the way for an HIV cure: Introducing Target Product Profiles (TPP) and the HIV Cure Africa Acceleration Partnership (HCAAP), to unpack two new articles just published in The Lancet HIV.
The articles argue why now is the time to focus on advancing HIV cure research. Outputs of a 2019 meeting of global stakeholders, these articles—The case for an HIV cure and how to get there and Multi Stakeholder Consensus on a Target Product Profile for an HIV Cure—make the case for the role an HIV cure can play in ending the epidemic, and share a roadmap to get there, including the role of community advocates.
As described in the articles and to be discussed on next week’s webinar, there is a need now for community advocates to provide input on acceptability of potential cure interventions, help to shape the policy environment, and enhance the capacity needed for cure trials, such as robust HIV and viral load testing. To that end, the proposed HCAAP plans to coordinate key stakeholders (e.g., regulators, funders, civil society, Ministries Of Health, researchers, etc.) across the public and private sectors to drive the development of a community-led cure research agenda and speed up access to a potential strategy in the future.