ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK, presented comprehensive real-world data at the International AIDS Society 2025 Conference (IAS 2025) in Kigali, Rwanda, demonstrating the positive impact of its long-acting injectable HIV treatments across diverse patient populations. The data reinforces the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of the company's innovative treatment and prevention portfolio while highlighting patient preferences for long-acting options over daily oral therapy.
Strong Patient Preference for Long-Acting Treatment Options
First data from the phase IIIb VOLITION study assessed preferences and experiences among antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive adults offered the option to switch to cabotegravir + rilpivirine long-acting (CAB+RPV LA) after achieving rapid viral suppression with daily Dovato (dolutegravir/lamivudine). The study revealed strong patient preference for the long-acting injectable regimen, demonstrating the appeal of reduced dosing frequency in newly diagnosed patients.
Jean van Wyk, Chief Medical Officer at ViiV Healthcare, emphasized the significance of these findings: "Our extensive real-world insights about CAB+RPV LA for HIV treatment and CAB LA for HIV prevention demonstrate how long-acting injectables are redefining the way we approach HIV care and management in broad populations."
Sustained Real-World Effectiveness Across Multiple Studies
The conference featured data from several real-world studies demonstrating sustained effectiveness of CAB+RPV LA across diverse populations. The German CARLOS cohort presented 24-month outcomes showing effectiveness, adherence to injections, and positive participant-reported outcomes from people with HIV-1 receiving the long-acting regimen every two months.
The BEYOND study provided perspectives from people with HIV 24 months following a switch to CAB+RPV LA in an observational real-world US study, while the COMBINE-2 cohort in Europe demonstrated high virologic suppression and few virologic failures with the long-acting treatment in treatment-experienced, virologically suppressed individuals.
Two analyses from the OPERA cohort focused specifically on the effectiveness of CAB+RPV LA in real-world settings for treatment-experienced adults with viremia at therapy initiation, including clinical outcomes among women initiating treatment with viral loads ≥50 copies/mL.
Implementation Success for HIV Prevention
Implementation studies provided valuable insights into the acceptability and benefits of cabotegravir long-acting (CAB LA) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The PILLAR study presented one-year implementation outcomes among men who have sex with men and transgender men, while the EBONI study focused on healthcare provider experiences implementing CAB LA for Black women after 12 months.
These studies demonstrated positive participant experiences with CAB LA implementation and highlighted the potential for long-acting injectables to address common challenges associated with daily oral PrEP, including adherence and stigma concerns.
Broader Treatment Portfolio Effectiveness
Beyond the long-acting injectables, ViiV Healthcare presented new effectiveness data for dolutegravir/lamivudine (DTG/3TC) in different populations. The VOLITION study evaluated the efficacy of DTG/3TC in achieving rapid virologic suppression in a diverse treatment-naive population, facilitating early switch to CAB+RPV LA.
The D2ARLING study compared DTG/3TC effectiveness to other regimens in the presence of transmitted resistance mutations, while the SUNGURA study provided safety and efficacy data in virally suppressed older people living with HIV switching to DTG/3TC from bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide.
Patient-Centered Care and Shared Decision Making
Interim results from wave three of the Positive Perspectives study demonstrated the importance of community perspectives in treatment outcomes. The data showed how shared decision making and treatment satisfaction are linked to treatment outcomes and self-rated health in specific sub-group analyses.
The study revealed that treatment satisfaction was linked to improved adherence and mental, physical, sexual, and overall health among people living with HIV. Additionally, joint patient-provider decision making was associated with improvements in quality of life and treatment satisfaction.
The research also highlighted the continued need to improve awareness, belief, and confidence in the Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U) message, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive HIV education and support.
Clinical Significance and Future Implications
The comprehensive dataset presented at IAS 2025 underscores the transformative potential of long-acting injectable therapies in HIV care. Van Wyk noted that the data "further reinforce their effectiveness, safety and tolerability, and underscore our commitment to delivering therapies that meet the evolving needs of people impacted by HIV, offering flexibility and choice beyond daily oral treatment."
The real-world evidence supports the clinical trial findings and demonstrates that long-acting injectables can effectively address key challenges in HIV care, including treatment adherence, stigma reduction, and patient satisfaction. The positive implementation experiences across diverse populations suggest potential for broader adoption of these innovative treatment and prevention strategies.
These findings represent a significant advancement in HIV care, offering patients and healthcare providers evidence-based alternatives to daily oral therapy while maintaining high levels of effectiveness and safety across diverse patient populations.
