Volume 7, Issue 5

Update: The Promise of Long-Acting Antiretrovirals

Editor's note:

Just prior to publication of this issue, the FDA approved direct-to-inject administration of cabotegravir/rilpivirine (Cabenuva), without an initial oral lead-in period. This is an update from the information Dr. Tanyaporn Wansom presents in this issue, and means that as of March 24, 2022, it is appropriate to consider initiation of injectable long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine without first giving pills of the drugs to confirm tolerability. Learners are advised to review the updated Cabenuva prescribing information for additional guidance.

In this issue:

Maintaining effective viral suppression among people with HIV requires higher levels of adherence than many patients can reliably achieve. The advent of long-acting antiretrovirals (LA ARV) medicines, delivered by injection or drug-eluting implant, is expected to improve adherence by reducing patient burdens and thus improve clinical outcomes and reduce community viral load. But what factors are important to consider about LA ARV? For which patients might it be appropriate? What’s available today? What should we expect tomorrow? 

In this eHIV Review Newsletter issue, Dr. Tanyaporn Wansom, Senior Infectious Diseases Consultant at Chayun Consulting in Bangkok, Thailand, reviews the latest published research into this potentially paradigm-changing development. 

Learning objectives:

  • Explain the benefits and limitations of long-acting antiretroviral treatment. 
  • Describe the use of long-acting antiretrovirals as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). 

Author:

Tanyaporn Wansom, MD, PhD
Tanyaporn Wansom, MD, PhD

Senior Infectious Diseases Consultant
Chayun Consulting
Bangkok, Thailand

Program Directors:

Justin Alves, RN, FNP-BC, ACRN, CARN, CNE

Nurse Educator
Boston Medical Center
Boston, MA
(he/him/his)

Matthew Spinelli, MD, MAS

Assistant Professor
HIV, ID, and Global Medicine
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco, California
(he/him/his)

Ethel D. Weld, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences
Division of Infectious Diseases
Division of Clinical Pharmacology
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland
(she/her/hers)

Length of activity:

1.0 hour Physicians
1.0 contact hour Nurses

Launch date: April 7, 2022
Expiration date: April 6, 2024