Long-Acting HIV Therapy in African Adults with Adherence Challenges.

Long-acting injectable cabotegravir plus rilpivirine is noninferior to oral dolutegravir-based therapy in maintaining viral suppression among African adults with adherence challenges.

• Why it matters: Addressing adherence challenges is crucial for achieving viral suppression in the approximately 1 million people living with HIV in eastern and southern Africa who struggle with daily oral therapy.
• What they did: A phase 3b, open-label, randomized trial compared long-acting injections every 8 weeks to daily oral therapy in 540 virally suppressed adults with adherence issues across Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda, assessing viral load at 48 weeks.
• The result: At 48 weeks, 91.0% in the long-acting group and 89.2% in the oral group achieved viral suppression, with confirmed virologic failure in 1.9% of the long-acting group and none in the oral group, supporting noninferiority.