HIV R4P 2021

HIV Research for Prevention Conference (R4P) Virtual took place on January 27-28 and February 3-4.

• AVAC’s Conference Coverage
• Advocates’ Corner
• Conference News
• Sessions with AVAC and Partners
• Navigating R4P Virtual
• IAS COVID-19 Conference: Prevention

AVAC’s Conference Coverage

• Making Do With “Good Enough”: A roundup of the first week of HIVR4P
• Prevention Unmasked: A roundup from week two

Advocates’ Corner

Recorded sessions from the Advocates' Corner brought advocates, researchers and allies together to debrief on key findings and discussions from R4P Virtual 2021. Check out the full schedule here.

Session Recordings

• Advocates’ Dialogue on Domestic Resource Mobilization for HIV R&D in Africa
• Understanding Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies
• COVID-19 & Vaccine Hesitancy
• Tracking Global PrEP Trends
• A Conversation About Multipurpose Prevention
• What Does the CAB-LA Tail Mean for Implementation?
• Research Ethics—New Guidelines, Same Urgency
• A Review of the Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Women’s HIV Prevention Pipeline
• A Look at The 2021 Resource Tracking Report
• A Conversation About the Dapivirine Ring- What do the WHO Guidelines Mean for Access?
• Working with the Global Infrastructure-A Conversation with the COVID-19 Advocates Advisory Board

Continue these conversations on engage.avac.org!

Conference News

Media

• Time to take critical race theory seriously: moving beyond a colour-blind gender lens in global health—The Lancet
• HIV Vaccine Approach Developed by Scripps Research Succeeds in First Clinical Trial—Times of San Diego
• HIV testing, condom use: Nigeria, other African countries may not meet 2030 targets—ICIR
• Why broadly neutralizing antibodies might be the next big thing in HIV—Spotlight
• Expanding Range of Options to Prevent HIV is Key as no One Size Fits All—Manglorean
• The ring has finally arrived!—CNS
• Nearly a million have started taking PrEP worldwide- only a third of UNAIDS’ 2020 targets—aidsmap
• Africa’s Success in rapidly rolling out HIV prevention measure, PrEP—Devex
• A pill, a ring or a jab: The future of HIV prevention is choice—Bhekisisa
• Ethical considerations in HIV prevention trials—UNAIDS & WHO
• AMPing up HIV prevention: An inside look at how the immune system fights off the virus—Bhekisisa
• Antibody-based PrEP did not stop most types of HIV – but is still hailed as a ‘game changer’—aidsmap
• Islatravir Shows Promise for Once—Monthly Oral PrEP—POZ
• Lab-made antibodies can prevent HIV infection—but only if they match the virus—Science
• HIV PrEP uptake increases 6 fold in 4 years, still falls short of global goals—Healio
• Condom Use, HIV testing: African countries off track 2030 targets—Herald
• Can mRNA technology help scientists find HIV vaccine?—Africa News
• Covid-19 Vaccine, Access, Equality Critical—The Chronicle
• 90-Day Vaginal Ring Said To Prevent Both HIV & Pregnancy Is Making News—Babygaga.com

Press Releases

• Interim Findings from Phase 2a Clinical Trial Evaluating Investigational Once-Monthly Oral Islatravir for the Prevention of HIV-1 Infection at HIVR4P 2021 — Merck
• Data from Antibody-Mediated Prevention Studies Advance the Field and Show the Challenges that Lie Ahead: HIV Research for Prevention Conference Presents Important Research Insights Across a Range of New Options – AVAC on data presented at opening press conference
• Efficacy Results announced: Global first Antibody Mediated Prevention (AMP) trials – HVTN and HPTN
• Antibody Infusions Prevent Acquisition of Some HIV Strains, NIH Studies Find: Results Will Inform Development of Long-Acting Antibody-Based HIV Prevention Tools
• Second early phase study of 90-day vaginal ring containing dapivirine and contraceptive shows promise as dual-purpose product for preventing both HIV and pregnancy - MTN

Sessions with AVAC and Partners

This collection of satellites, symposia and oral abstract sessions includes AVAC team members and partners confronting key issues on the frontier of HIV prevention science in 2021.

Wednesday, January 27

• Ethical considerations in HIV prevention trials: New guidance from WHO and UNAIDS
• Late breaking trials at R4P, including results from HPTN 084 and the Antibody Mediated Prevention Trials

Thursday, January 28

• Is perfect use the enemy of effective use?: Redefining success in the era of ARV-based prevention (Flyer available)
• Optimizing the delivery of HIV prevention services for maximum impact and sustainability: The Blantyre Prevention Strategy
• PrEP is here, considerations to achieve continued use, with the latest data from our Global PrEP Tracker
• Mapping policy: Accelerating progress locally, nationally and globally, including presentations on our Advocates’ Trial Design Academy and the Biomedical Prevention Implementation Collaborative (BioPIC)
• The Future of PrEP: Developing its Potential from Research to Implementation; click here to see the agenda

Wednesday, February 3

• Next-Generation Trial Design in Real Time: What’s at Stake
• Beginning with the end in mind: What we (think we) know about prevention user preferences during It's about people: Prevention in the real-world plenary session
• Community engagement: Enabling responsive, inclusive, accountable research
• Vaccines: What HIV R&D did for COVID-19
• Advancing Novel HIV Prevention Strategies, Together: A Scientific and Community Exchange

Thursday, February 4

• Bringing PrEP to the people: Democratizing access to PrEP through differentiated delivery before, during and after COVID-19

Many of the team and partners are also representing AVAC, CASPR and the Prevention Market Manager in posters and publications—click here and scroll to the last page for a full list.

Navigating R4P

To make the most of the sessions above, AVAC has a host of resources for you:

• Use AVAC’s conference Roadmap (PDF or sortable spreadsheet) to navigate the conference.
• Visit the full R4P program here.

IAS COVID-19 Conference: Prevention

On February 2, IAS hosted a one-day conference on COVID-19 prevention. It featured prevention-related science, policy and practice, along with discussions and presentations on how to address the growing gap in access to approved vaccines. Sessions of particular interest included:

• COVID-19 and the Policy Response. Session includes a panel discussion on ‘Ensuring equitable access/ financing to address COVID-19.’
• Active and passive vaccination to prevent COVID-19 infection and disease
• What’s Next for the COVID-19 Response: Featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci and the IAS COVID-19: Prevention Conference committee.

And open to all was Working within the Global Infrastructure on COVID-19: A Conversation with members of the CAAB (Advocates’ Corner), a discussion on how the world rapidly pivoted to COVID-19 research and what that meant for stakeholder engagement.