Photo Credit: Kiattisakch

For people with a history of suboptimal ART adherence, long-acting injectable treatment (LAI) is superior when compared with oral standard of care (SOC), according to a study presented at CROI. Aadia Rana, MD, and colleagues compared LAI to oral SOC ART among people with HIV and a history of suboptimal adherence. Researchers enrolled 434 participants in step 1, which provided conditional cash incentives for viral suppression on SOC for up to 24 weeks; the study team then randomly assigned 294 participants to monthly LAI (n=146) versus continuation of SOC (n=148) for 52 weeks. The two arms had a similar cumulative probability of adverse events, though the LAI arm was favored in all efficacy endpoints. The primary composite endpoint was the earliest occurrence of virologic failure or treatment discontinuation. In this interim analysis, the primary endpoint did not meet the predefined stopping criterion, but key secondary endpoints of virological failure and treatment-related failure met this criterion, indicating superiority in the LAI arm.