The international HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) conference occurs every 2 years, this time in Madrid, Spain. While research on prevention is reported and many other scientific meetings every year, this is the only international meeting devoted entirely to the needs of people at risk for infection, and the multifaceted strategies to understand and interrupt HIV transmission. To date we have only one drug licensed to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), but to succeed on the world-stage, with the diverse and personal needs of all people at-risk, we need many more options, including female-controlled options. In the opening plenary, Anthony Fauci, from the NIAID/NIH, made it clear that a durable end to the HIV/AIDS pandemic will require the development and vigorous implementation of not just microbicides, but also long-lasting injectables, antiretroviral-based and broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb)-based modalities for PrEP, structure-based vaccine design for the development of immunogens aimed at the induction of bNAbs and other novel and combination approaches. Advocates from around the world reinforced this message by overtaking the stage several times during the conference (to the delight of the organizers, invited speakers and audience), reinforcing the demand for more HIV prevention options that meet their personal needs and lifestyles, because, as they shouted out: “You cannot end this epidemic without our help!”
Reference: Fauci A S. Ending the HIV/AIDS Pandemic: The Critical Role of HIV Prevention Science, oral presentation PL01.3, 2018. HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) Conference, Madrid,
10/22/2018
HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) 2018 in Madrid: We Need More Choices!
Source: Reporting from Madrid for PRN News: James Braun, DO