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A mix of two monoclonal antibodies against HIV tamped down virus levels in patients not taking antiretroviral medication, according to the results of two early-stage clinical trials reported today (September 26) in Nature and Nature Medicine. After several infusions of the broadly neutralizing antibodies, most patients kept the virus at bay for two to three months before it returned.
“Ultimately, this may not be good for everybody, and it’s expensive. But if you think about cancer, we’ve really made a big difference with immune therapies,” Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at the Rockefeller University who led the studies, tells Science. “For HIV, there’s no such thing.”
Typically, patients taking antiretroviral medications are on them for life, and must take them daily. In the search for a longer-lasting treatment, scientists have looked to antibodies against the virus, but so far, HIV bounces back quickly after people have received ...
