IDSA: Cabotegravir + rilpivirine long-acting antiretroviral therapy beneficial in HIV
· Medical Xpressby Elana Gotkine
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Cabotegravir + rilpivirine (CAB+RPV) long-acting (LA) antiretroviral therapy (ART) consistently maintains virologic suppression among virologically suppressed adults with HIV, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDWeek), held from Oct. 21 to 24 in Washington, D.C.
Ricky Hsu, M.D., from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles, and colleagues examined real-world persistence and virologic outcomes after a switch to CAB+RPV LA and explored reasons for discontinuation. ART-experienced, virologically suppressed adults switching to CAB+RPV LA from Jan. 21, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2025, were observed through Feb. 28, 2026.
Overall, 87% of the 7,995 people who switched to CAB+RPV LA were suppressed at initiation. The researchers found that 77% of the 6,362 complete initiators (first two injections ≤67 days apart) remained in care and on CAB+RPV LA at study end, with a median duration of 18 months on CAB+RPV LA. Ninety-four percent had their last viral load measured at <50 copies/mL during the first uninterrupted CAB+RPV LA use, while 81% maintained all viral loads <50 copies/mL and 1% experienced confirmed virologic failure.
The most common reasons for discontinuation were nonadherence to injection visits, loss to care and desire to switch to oral ARTs (29%, 23% and 15%, respectively), among 182 surveys of provider-confirmed discontinuations.
"By adding real-world data that reflects everyday challenges facing patients in accessing care to the evidence base, these findings further validate randomized clinical trials that show cabotegravir plus rilpivirine as an effective and valuable option for those living with HIV," Hsu said in a statement.
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Citation: IDSA: Cabotegravir + rilpivirine long-acting antiretroviral therapy beneficial in HIV (2026, October 27) retrieved 27 October 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-idsa-cabotegravir-rilpivirine-antiretroviral-therapy.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.