Nature: One-time medication, long-term protection, the AIDS drug candidate developed by Gilead has significant effects in primates

AIDS , the full name is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, which is a very harmful infectious disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

According to UNAIDS data, the number of HIV carriers and AIDS patients worldwide has increased from 34.

On December 7, 2021, researchers from Harvard Medical School and Gilead Sciences published a research paper titled: Long Acting Capsid Inhibitor Protects Macaques From Repeat SHIV Challenges in Nature

The study showed that GS-CA1, an inhibitor of the HIV capsid, can provide long-term protection against infection of rhesus monkeys with HIV-related Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SHIV)

The use of antiretroviral drugs (ART) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an important strategy to prevent HIV, but this method requires frequent administration, which limits compliance and effectiveness

Long-acting antiretroviral drugs can solve the problem of daily drug dosage

This study showed that a dose of GS-CA1 can protect rhesus monkeys and prevent the replication of HIV-related monkey immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)

GS-CA1 is similar in structure to lenacapavir, another HIV capsid inhibitor, which has shown potential for antiviral activity in clinical trials

In October 2020, researchers from the University of Utah and the University of Virginia published a research paper titled: Reconstitution and visualization of HIV-1 capsid-dependent replication and integration in vitro in the top international academic journal Science

This research has fulfilled a dream for decades-reconstructing the first step of HIV infection in vitro

This research also provides theoretical support for the development of AIDS drugs that target the capsid

Original source:

Vidal, SJ, Bekerman, E.