Reservoir Reduction and Control
Eradicating HIV at its core: reducing reservoirs, restoring control
Goal
To develop a broadly active, easily administered (“single-shot”), affordable, accessible, and acceptable therapy that enables durable antiretroviral therapy (ART)-free control of HIV.
Background and Current Landscape
Without therapeutic intervention, the mortality rate for people living with HIV is over 90%. For most individuals living with HIV, the only viable option for controlling the virus is a lifetime of daily, oral antiretroviral therapy (ART), a treatment regimen essential for the maintenance of viral suppression, prevention of disease progression, and reduction of the risk of transmission. Despite the effectiveness of ART in managing HIV, it requires lifelong adherence and continuous medical care. However, a small subset of people living with HIV (PLWH) can control the disease after infection, either naturally or after a period of suppressive ART, at least in part due to their ability to mount effective antiviral immunity (e.g., CD8+ T cell and/or NK cell responses) against HIV. These “elite controllers” and “post-treatment controllers,” respectively, offer valuable insights into immune mechanisms of viral control and, thus, into potential approaches towards the development of curative interventions for HIV.
Based on recent advances, investments in this subdomain aim to develop therapies that can replicate some of these unique immune responses and thereby induce durable (minimum: 3+ year) viral control in the absence of ART. Investments in this area concentrate on long-lasting antibody therapies, innovative therapeutic vaccine candidates, and various approaches towards reduction or elimination of the HIV reservoir.
Selected Partners
