Towards an HIV Cure: Industry Collaboration Group

Case study 1: The participant lived experience in HIV cure research

In 2024, the Cure group convened a roundtable to explore the lived experiences of participants in HIV cure trials involving analytical treatment interruptions (ATIs), a critical but challenging component of cure research.

Key recommendations included: strengthening informed consent; minimizing procedural demands; supporting partners; ensuring robust mental health resources; and co-developing a participant-centred research framework. The roundtable emphasized the importance of building trust and embedding lived experience into HIV cure research to improve ethical standards, trial design and long-term engagement.

Case study 2: bNAbs: From prevention to cure

At IAS 2023, the 12th IAS Conference on HIV Science, the Vaccine and Cure groups co-hosted a satellite event that focused on the strong potential of bNAbs in prevention and cure of HIV and explored how the research and development of bNAbs for HIV prevention can contribute to their use in cure strategies. The satellite examined how efforts in the prevention and cure fields can be shared to develop bNAbs that benefit both areas of research. The session drew 130 participants, generating remarkable engagement: 10,558 impressions and 297 interactions on social media.

Case study 3: Africa HIV cure research: Strengthening industry-community engagement in clinical research

At AIDS 2022, the 26th International AIDS Conference, the Cure group hosted a satellite session on how best to engage and involve communities of people living with HIV in end-to-end product development and, in particular, clinical research in Africa. Watch the satellite session here and find the report here.

Case study 4: Advancing HIV cure research tools in low- and middle-income countries

In 2022, the Cure group convened two expert meetings to address technical challenges in conducting HIV cure research in low- and middle-income countries. A roundtable explored approaches to point-of-care viral load testing during ATIs, essential for monitoring participants' safety. A workshop focused on non-invasive technologies to measure HIV reservoirs, aiming to reduce participant burden and expand feasibility in resource-limited settings. Both meetings emphasized the importance of accessible and scalable tools to support ethically sound and inclusive cure research globally.