Novel Treatment Promising for Resistant HIV Monoclonal antibody suppresses virus in patients lacking treatment options

The experimental monoclonal antibody ibalizumab, which works differently than other HIV drugs, lowered viral load in vulnerable patients with multidrug-resistant virus, researchers reported here. When ibalizumab was given with at least one other active drug, 43% of heavily treatment-experienced patients reached an undetectable viral load, according to Brinda Emu, MD, of Yale University in New Haven, Conn. The results come from a phase III study of 40 patients presented at the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. Ibalizumab targets the CD4 receptor protein to prevent HIV entry into T cells and is the first monoclonal antibody to be tested for HIV treatment. It's not as potent as other antiretrovirals, but it may provide the added activity needed to suppress HIV in people with few or no other treatment options. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/CROI/63272?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2017-02-21&eun=g721819d0r&pos=4