Researchers at Yale University have presented promising results for a new long-acting HIV treatment regimen that combines lenacapavir with two broadly neutralizing antibodies, teropavimab and zinlirvimab. The study, which enrolled 80 participants with viral suppression, showed that the twice-yearly regimen was comparable in efficacy to daily oral treatment at six months.
Lenacapavir is an approved HIV capsid inhibitor used for heavily treatment-experienced individuals with multidrug-resistant HIV. However, it requires daily oral antiretrovirals due to a lack of durable partners. Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) have the potential to fill this gap by targeting conserved parts of the virus.
The phase II clinical trial tested the triple combination of lenacapavir, teropavimab, and zinlirvimab in people with viral suppression. The results showed that 96% of participants maintained viral suppression, and average CD4 counts increased without significant differences between groups.
While one participant experienced virological failure due to resistance development, the study was generally safe and well-tolerated. The researchers believe this regimen holds promise for HIV treatment and plan to extend the study to 52 weeks.
Source: https://www.aidsmap.com/news/mar-2025/lenacapavir-plus-broadly-neutralising-antibodies-could-be-twice-yearly-hiv-treatment