Avac Event

Do Vaginas Demand Perfection? Implications for Event-Driven PrEP

Dr. Jenell Stewart (University of Minnesota, Hennepin Healthcare) joined The Choice Agenda to discuss and analyze recent research on HIV PrEP and implications for event driven PrEP across sex and gender.

Recording / Slides

Avac Event

Vaccinology of HSV

Akiko Iwasaki, PhD, a professor of immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, turned her focus to SARS-CoV-2 soon after reading the first reports coming out of China, before COVID-19 surfaced in the United States. Though she has long been recognized for her work within the scientific community, her work around COVID-19 has raised her media profile considerably. She is frequently quoted by newspapers and reporters, and has amassed a huge Twitter following of people seeking out her research updates. (Iwasaki believes that public education is a key ingredient for slowing the spread of the virus.)

This webinar is in partnership with Herpes Cure Advocacy.

Avac Event

Innovations in GPP

This webinar featured speakers from around the world with experience implementing GPP at research sites, within networks, and at the sponsorship level.

They illustrated how GPP can expand beyond the more familiar (but always reliable) CABs and town hall meetings to newer ideas like partnership-based approaches, the creation of a community scorecard, and more.

Moderator and Presenter:

  • Ntando Yola, Desmond Tutu Health Foundation

Presenters:

  • Sarah Read, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
  • Clever Chilende, Treatment Advocacy & Literacy Campaign (TALC)

Recording / Clever Chilende Slides / Sarah Read Slides / Ntando Yola Slides

Avac Event

PrEP Your Booty – The Launch of HPTN 106 “Rev Up”

HPTN 106 (REV UP) is an innovative clinical trial from the HIV Prevention Trials Network that will investigate the safety and acceptability of a tenofovir-based rectal douche for HIV prevention among cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men. This webinar featured researchers leading the study.

Speakers:
Dr. Craig Hendrix, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Dr. Mark Marzinke, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Moderator:
Jim Pickett, The Choice Agenda

Co-sponsor:
HIV Prevention Trials Network

Recording  / Webinar Slides / Resources

Avac Event

Let’s Talk LEN: What global advances in HIV prevention mean for Black communities in the US

Groundbreaking results from the PURPOSE 1 trial conducted among cisgender Ugandan and South African women have changed the injectable PrEP global landscape. This webinar explored the implications of these findings for US Black populations.

This webinar was co-hosted by PrEP in Black America, Black Public Health, Federal AIDS Policy Partnership (FAPP), AVAC, and APHA.

Recording / Bekker Resource / Campbell Resource

Avac Event

Opportunities to Expand Equitable Access to HIV Prevention Services through Community Pharmacies

RxEACH is a national coalition effort working to expand and sustain access to HIV prevention and linkage to care services in community pharmacies. Community pharmacies are poised to unlock access to HIV prevention services, particularly in areas where it is most needed, and can play a crucial role in achieving equitable PrEP access.

With over half of the 70,000 pharmacies in the U.S. in medically underserved areas and 90% of the U.S. population living within 5 miles of a pharmacy, community pharmacies can serve as vital entry points for essential HIV prevention and linkage to care services – and ensure people can access services in their communities. Broader pharmacy access for prevention services, can empower choice for individuals to choose to receive PrEP and other prevention services in a location that best suits their needs. This webinar discussed the opportunity to expand equitable access to HIV prevention services, including PrEP, and what is needed to grow and sustain community-based HIV prevention service programs in pharmacies.

Moderator:

  • Mike Elizabeth, Equality Federation

Speakers:

  • Natalie Crawford, Emory University
  • Noelle Esquire, Elton John AIDS Foundation
  • Juan Carlos Loubriel, Whitman-Walker Health
  • Tamara McCants, National Pharmaceutical Association
  • Michael Murphy, American Pharmacists Association
  • Sara Zeigler, Courage Forward Strategies

Recording in English / Webinar Slides / Resources

Avac Event

2024 IUSTI World Congress

The International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI) and ASHM are pleased to invite you to the 25th IUSTI World Congress, which will this year incorporate the Australasian Sexual and Reproductive Health Conference.

Taking place 17-20 September 2024 at the International Convention Centre in Gadigal Country, Australia, this conference will provide an opportunity to meet, discuss and learn about the latest research and innovation in sexual and reproductive health. The program will incorporate a range of world leading speakers and presentations, providing an opportunity to expand your professional knowledge through local and international insight.

Click here for registration and more info.

Avac Event

2024 STI Prevention Conference

The STI Prevention Conference is a biennial conference that brings together international leading researchers with government experts, clinical STD care providers, and state and local public health administrators. The 2024 STI Prevention Conference is organized by the American Sexual Health Association, the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Coalition of STD Directors.

Join more than 1,200 conference attendees September 16-19, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia, for four days of scientific updates and cutting-edge sessions on science, program, and policy.

Click here for registration and more info.

Avac Event

AIDS 2024, the 25th International AIDS Conference

More than 15,000 attendees convened in Munich, Germany and virtually from July 22 – 26 for AIDS 2024, the world’s largest conference on HIV/AIDS. The conference occured on the heels of the PURPOSE 1 PrEP trial announcement, one of the most important research results we’ve seen to date in an HIV prevention study. AVAC tracked discussion, debate and decision making on what’s next and how urgently the field moves to make the full range of PrEP products feasible choices for all people who need and want HIV prevention. We’ll also followed the latest scientific advances, efforts in decolonizing global health, successes in community-led initiatives, and much more. 

Read on for resources and ways to navigate AIDS2024.

Daily Dispatches from the Conference

Resources

  • The Research-to-Rollout Literacy Networking Zone, convened by AVAC and CASPR partners, offered in-person and virtual programming including sessions on PrEP, the Dual Prevention Pill, HIV vaccine and cure research and more!

Pre-conferences, Satellites, Sessions and Workshops Featuring AVAC and Partners

Saturday, July 20

  • Pre-conference: Key Populations and HIV Prevention Pre-Conference, 08:00 – 16:00 CEST
    Hosted by the Global Black Gay Men Connect (GBGMC) and Global KP HIV Prevention Advisory Group in partnership with AVAC, Fierte Afrique, CoalitionPlus, EpiC Project and Palladium, this day-long session will “demand and deliver: securing rights, funding and prevention” will cover rights, funding and prevention to ensure that key populations are not left behind.
  • Pre-conference: Welcome to the Era of PrEP choice, 08:00 – 16:30 CEST
    Hosted by the Gates Foundation, Unitaid, USAID, WHO and partners, this session covers the PrEP pipeline, learnings from the early delivery of oral PrEP and what’s needs to happen to ensure expeditious access to the range of PrEP options for all.

Sunday, July 21

  • Pre-conference: Mobilize for action on sexually transmitted infections, 08:00 – 16:30 CEST
    Organized by WHO, IAS and International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI), this session will share insights into the global impact of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), featuring new developments in STIs, including the latest WHO guidelines, what we know and don’t know about antimicrobial resistance and the use of DoxyPEP.
  • Pre-conference: Towards a truly global HIV cure, 09:00 – 16:30 CEST
    This pre-conference will reflect on current research directions, scientific and structural challenges associated with conducting HIV cure research and the importance of expanding and coordinating efforts across countries and regions.

Monday, July 22

  • Satellite: New ways for the next wave: Innovative R&D for the future of women’s prevention, 09:30 – 10:30 CEST
    Organized by CASPR (Coalition to Accelerate & Support Prevention Research) and MATRIX (Microbicide R&D to Advance HIV Prevention Technologies through Responsive Innovation and Excellence), this session will focus on new efforts to identify and develop promising women’s prevention options, strategically engage all stakeholders, decolonize R&D and involve potential users in all their diversities throughout the process.
  • Satellite: Money, money, money: Building towards a sustainable end state for HIV prevention, 15:00 – 16:30 CEST
    As we look to 2030 and given stagnating or decreasing donor resources, we now face the question of how to ensure lasting impact with sustained access to PrEP. Hosted by AVAC, PATH, USAID, WHO and partners, this dynamic session will highlight critical HIV prevention financing gaps and showcase innovative financing and delivery solutions being rolled out to advance sustainable preventive services. 

Wednesday, July 24

  • Special Session: AIDS 2024 Co-Chairs’ Choice, 10:30 – 12:00 CEST
    Among exciting new developments, Linda Gail-Bekker will present, Twice-Yearly Lenacapavir or Daily Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide for HIV Prevention in Cisgender Women: Interim Analysis Results from the PURPOSE 1 Study.

Thursday, July 25

  • Satellite: HIV prevention in the time of choice, 07:00 – 08:00 CEST
    Organized by the African Women Prevention Accountability Board (AWPCAB) and IPM South Africa, this session will feature an expert panel discussing what is needed to make the current options available for all women and how to balance resources for expanding access to existing methods while simultaneously developing new methods.

Avac Event

PrEP Justice: Updates on the US v. Gilead case and the fight for equitable PrEP access


In a major twist that could potentially result in as much as $1B for equitable PrEP access in the US, the government has just made the decision to appeal last year’s jury verdict in the US v. Gilead case. Following pressure from PrEP4All and HIV/AIDS advocates, the US government originally brought the case in 2019, alleging that Gilead had infringed on PrEP patents held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and owed royalties to the government. While a jury verdict in May of last year went against the government, the judge in the case overturned a key part of that verdict just this March, setting the stage for a government appeal.

The stakes for communities in need of PrEP access could not be higher. Gilead’s patent infringement and price gouging have sabotaged equitable PrEP access in America. Royalties paid to the government could and should form the basis for a National PrEP Program that would help erase those disparities. Join The Choice Agenda and PrEP4All to discuss the origin of US v. Gilead, the reasons for the government appeal, and what the case means for PrEP users in the United States.

Moderator:

  • Michael Chancley, PrEP4All

Speakers:

  • Chris Morten, Columbia Law School
  • Jeremiah Johnson, PrEP4All

Recording / Slides / Resources