As reported in the Atlas Study, at 24 and 24 weeks of study, patients showed higher improvement in treatment satisfaction with IM CAB + RPV vs. continued oral, once daily treatment. By week 44, 266 of 273 respondents (97%) said that they preferred long-acting cabotegravir + rilpivirine treatment compared with the oral, once daily combination.
The discussion included the need for clinics to begin preparing to offer this option to PrEP patients. For example, HIV programs will need to rethink treatment protocols to accommodate patients who opt for the cabotegravir once monthly injection. The possible challenges to clinics include being able to schedule monthly visits, patient adherence to monthly appointments, STI swabs and other testing, administration of injections and reimbursement.
Reference:
Murray, M et al. Patient views on long acting HIV treatment: Cabotegravir + rilpivirine as maintenance therapy (ATLAS 48 week results). Tenth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science, Mexico City, abstract MOAB0103, 2019. http://programme.ias2019.org/Abstract/Abstract/3680
7/22/2019 10:24 PM
Long-acting IM Cabotegravir + Rilpivirine: More Popular than Conventional Oral Regimens
Source: Reporting from Mexico City for PRN News: Bill Valenti, MD