Lenacapavir: Patient and healthcare provider perceptions and the potential role for a twice-yearly injectable HIV treatment.

Background: The twice-yearly, long-acting lenacapavir (LA LEN) antiretroviral therapy (ART), when combined with an optimised background regimen, provides a subcutaneous injectable treatment option for people with HIV. This study aimed to understand the preferences, barriers and facilitators for uptake and implementation of LA LEN, with a view to informing clinical implementation.

Methods: In-depth qualitative interviews and focus groups with purposively sampled people with HIV and healthcare workers (HCWs) from UK HIV services were conducted.

Clinical pharmacology considerations and drug-drug interactions with long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine relevant to sub-Saharan Africa.

Long-acting injectable (LAI) cabotegravir and rilpivirine for HIV treatment and LAI cabotegravir for pre-exposure HIV prophylaxis are being rolled out in a multitude of countries worldwide. Due to the prolonged exposure, it can be challenging to undertake 'traditional' pharmacokinetic studies and current guidance is derived from their oral equivalents or physiologically based pharmacokinetic studies. This review aims to consider pharmacokinetic characteristics of cabotegravir and rilpivirine and describe anticipated drug-drug interactions (DDIs) with frequent concomitant medications in African settings.

Switch to long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine in virologically suppressed adults with HIV in Africa (CARES): week 48 results from a randomised, multicentre, open-label, non-inferiority trial.

Background: Long-acting injectable cabotegravir and rilpivirine is licensed for individualised treatment of HIV-1 infection in resource-rich settings. Additional evidence is required to support use in African treatment programmes where demographic factors, viral subtypes, previous treatment, and delivery and monitoring approaches differ. The aim of this study was to determine whether switching to long-acting therapy with injections every 8 weeks is non-inferior to daily oral therapy in Africa.

Two-drug regimens for the treatment of HIV in Africa.

Two-drug regimens for the treatment of HIV are increasingly available. The oral regimen of dolutegravir plus lamivudine is recommended as a preferred option in multiple national guidelines but is not currently included in WHO HIV treatment guidelines nor widely used in Africa. Long-acting injectable cabotegravir and rilpivirine is being rolled out in the USA, Europe, and Australia but its use in sub-Saharan Africa is currently restricted to clinical trials.