 Hey everyone. Happy New Year. Raif DeRozzi here, and this is your weekly roundup of the latest HIV news for the week of January 14th through the 20th, the first one of 2024. Today I'll be going through 15 articles covering topics ranging from a potential strategy for HIV cure, the Bill and Melinda Gates funding a potential HIV vaccine, rising drug prices in the US, African women living with HIV now have an effective treatment for malaria during pregnancy and more. I won't be reading the articles per se, but I will give you a brief summary and sometimes throw in my own opinion and or commentary. If you'd like access to the complete article, all links will be available in the description box below. By the way, if you haven't watched my 2024 updates video, I'll put up a card here so you can watch that as well. You can gain some insight into my personal life, my goals for the year, and what my plans are for future content. It's more of my old school vlog style video, which I'm keen to also do more of this coming year, so stay tuned. All right. A huge thank you to Dennis Nelson for a $200 super thanks, which he explained is to help cover the cost of the surgery to remove Dukie's cancerous tumor, which if you're confused about that, it's because you haven't watched my 2024 updates video, which includes all the backstory to that. So grateful and thankful to you for that. His surgery date is coming up this Tuesday, January 23rd. So please send Dukie your love and good energy, please. Jumping right in. Number one, MedRiva, rising out-of-pocket costs of HIV prevention medications, a barrier to public health. Ensuring affordable access to HIV prevention medications, particularly pre-exposure prophylaxis, is crucial for global public health efforts against HIV AIDS. A recent study reveals that even a slight increase in monthly out-of-pocket costs could double the rate of PrEP prescription abandonment. If costs reach $100 to $500 per month, almost one-third of patients may stop their PrEP prescriptions, potentially leading to a surge in new HIV infections. Social and structural factors such as positive norms and open discussions with health care providers significantly influence PrEP use. However, rising drug prices, affecting around 500 drugs from over 140 brands, including major manufacturers like Pfizer and Sonofi, add to the challenge. Collaborative efforts among policymakers, health care providers, and the pharmaceutical industry are essential to maintain accessibility, counteract rising costs, and promote positive attitudes towards PrEP use, ensuring that the fight against HIV AIDS remains inclusive and effective. I was kind of in disbelief when I read that $100 to $500 a month for PrEP led to only a third of patients stopping their PrEP prescriptions. Who is this third of the population that is still paying for PrEP when it's $100 to $500 a month? That's crazy. But I'm sure that's what the study says. I don't know the details of the study. I tried to look it up more in depth, and there was a link in the article that led to the Taylor and Francis online study where all this information was derived. I couldn't find anything because there was a paywall. I couldn't get any further into the article past the abstract, which is the summary. I did see in the summary they mentioned that among 315 respondents of cisgender black women in the U.S., 62.2% were interested in PrEP if it were provided for free, which 62.2% of cisgender black women is, that's a high number, and it's a lot more than I would have guessed, which just goes to show you that with the availability and accessibility, a lot more people would be willing to protect their sexual health. Number 2. The New York Times. 6 reasons drug prices are so high in the U.S. Drug prices in the United States are substantially higher than those in other wealthy countries for several reasons. Unlike other nations with a centralized negotiator, the U.S. has fragmented negotiations among thousands of health plans, diminishing bargaining power. The absence of price controls allows drug companies to avoid legal restraints on prices. Perverse incentives, like doctors profiting from administering higher price drugs, contribute to the issue. The fragmented and complicated system involving pharmacy benefit managers and insurers adds to the confusion. Patent gaming by drug companies prolonging monopoly periods and pricing based on what the market will bear further contribute to the high costs. Addressing these issues is crucial for achieving fair drug pricing in the U.S. I mean, yeah, if you walk down the street and ask any average American what you think of the U.S. healthcare system, they will tell you that, and the drug costs, they will tell you that it is out of control. And maybe even a lot of people would say that it's broken. It's so opaque and complicated and so many varying interests that have little to do with making sure that the end user, the customer, you and I are benefiting the most. And if we don't like it, we have little recourse. Number three, San Francisco Chronicle. Drugmaker can be held responsible for delaying HIV treatment rollout court rules. In a groundbreaking ruling, a California appeals court has decided that pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences can be held responsible for delaying the release of a safer HIV drug while marketing another product it knew had potentially harmful side effects. The ruling allows Gilead to be held accountable if it prioritized profits over patient safety. Gilead continued selling the drug to noff of your disapproxial fumarate or TDF effective against AIDS and HIV virus for nearly a decade while withholding a safer alternative to noff of your alfino my fumarate TAF with fewer side effects. The court's decision could set a precedent for holding manufacturers liable for withholding a safer version of a medication for financial gain. The ruling may have widespread implications across various industries impacting the development and improvement of products. Gilead has the option to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. I'm all for free market capitalism with minimal regulations, but that minimal regulations includes protecting the health and safety of you and me. Period. And here's the thing. If you're going to find companies for being naughty, the fine needs to hurt. It needs to mean something. So often I hear about these fines that are end up being a drop in the bucket of the company's annual revenue and they're completely incentivized to continue their bad behavior and just deal with the fines because hey, breaking the rules nets them more in return than the fine takes away. So obviously the fines need to be more punitive. By the way, I am not singling out Gilead Sciences by any search of the imagination. Many, many, many corporations do whatever they can to make the most profit. But I'm not going to sit here and vilify anyone who has mud on their shirt because I wouldn't be able to talk to anyone, probably. I'd rather work with people and organizations than shun them. I will always do everything I can to make the most profit. I'm not going to sit here and vilify anyone who has mud on their shirt because I wouldn't be able to talk to anyone, probably. I will always do everything I can to make room for dialogue and collaboration, if at all possible. Number four, NIH, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. NIH developed HIV antibodies protect animals in proof of concept study. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID, conducted a study on monkeys to explore the potential of HIV antibodies in preventing simian HIV or SHIV infection. With the aim of informing the development of an HIV vaccine for humans. Three antibodies, including a human broadly neutralizing antibody and two isolated from vaccinated monkeys, targeted the fusion peptide, a region on the HIV surface, crucial for cell entry. Monkeys receiving these antibodies showed significant protection from SHIV. Indicating that fusion peptide directed antibodies could be a valuable target for a preventive HIV vaccine. The study suggests that an effective vaccine may need to generate multiple varieties of such antibodies to address the diverse range of HIV variants. So if I'm understanding this correctly, what I am taking away from this is that there is a peptide on the surface of the HIV virus that allows it to enter cells. And so if they can interfere with that peptide, then it isn't able to at least so easily enter cells. And this wouldn't be a master key that would take care of all HIV because variants of HIV have different methods of infecting our cells. So that's why they're saying that they would need to address the diverse range of HIV variants. But this could be one particular way to prevent HIV infection. Okay, number five AIDS map. What's needed to make statins available for people with HIV in low and middle income countries or LMI sees a large international clinical trial called reprieve has shown that offering statins to people with HIV can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease. Namely, pitava statin was the hero of some recent studies, but the assumption and hope is that other statins will have similar effects. Studies are needed to determine their efficacy. However, implementing this preventive measure in low and middle income countries poses challenges. The study which involved 7,769 people with HIV demonstrated a 35% reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular events with statin treatment. Quote, the British HIV Association moved quickly to recommend statin treatment for all people with HIV over the age of 40, end quote. While high income countries and South Asia showed significant risk reduction, other regions had non-significant results requiring further research. Implementing statin treatment faces obstacles in settings with underused cardiovascular preventive interventions. To address this, the commentary suggests donor support and inclusion of statins in funding frameworks for HIV programs. The study emphasizes the opportunity to integrate HIV and cardiovascular disease care in regions with a high HIV burden. I'll be really interested to see how these and future findings continue to develop and the role that statins will have to play in that especially in managing long term survivors living with HIV. I've talked about this before, I'll continue to talk about it, but comorbidities are something that those of us living with HIV, undetectable, untreatment, were effectively controlling our HIV. We still have to deal with these comorbidities as we age with HIV and cardiovascular disease can be an increased risk factor in our lives. So, so perhaps statins will play a larger role in our general medical care as time goes on as the research expands. Number six, Journal of the International AIDS Society. Let us lead community leadership in the AIDS response is its fundamental pillar for success. The global movement of people living with HIV and affected by HIV is a powerful force that actively shapes the agenda of the AIDS response. Rooted in principles like the Denver principles written in 1983 by a group of activists, they intended for the principles to help remove the stigma of HIV AIDS and to also establish health care as a human right. And the greater involvement of people with HIV, also known as GIPA, this movement emphasizes the meaningful participation of those with HIV in decision making. They advocate for the principle of nothing for us without us and invest in initiatives like the her voice fund and the global young and emerging leaders program to ensure sustained advocacy through generations. The movement engages in global concerns beyond HIV influencing areas like COVID-19 climate change and universal health coverage. Despite evidence of the benefits of community leadership challenges arise from shifting global health governance, limited support and shrinking civic space. The call is clear. Let people living with and affected by HIV lead drawing on their experience, expertise and commitment to a rights based approach. Number seven, Medical Express, unlocking the mechanisms of HIV in preclinical research. Mayo Clinic researchers have made a significant stride toward eliminating HIV infected cells from the body by unraveling the molecular mechanisms influencing whether these cells die or survive. Unlike existing approaches that focus on blocking HIV proteins or preventing the virus from reaching cells. This research targets the HIV reservoir or the latent reservoir, which is resistant to current therapies. The study reveals that a protein called CASP 8P41 produced by HIV infected cells plays a crucial role. When CASP 8P41 binds to another protein called BCL2, the infected cells survive. Otherwise, they would die. The researchers found that manipulating the levels of these two proteins can determine the fate of HIV infected cells. Testing a BCL2 inhibitor in mice with human immune systems showed a potential in reducing the HIV reservoir, offering hope for advancing HIV cure research. Further studies are needed for confirmation, of course. So by being able to encourage an HIV infected cell to die, that pesky latent reservoir we're all familiar with can begin to shrink and hopefully disappear completely if we can get this to work. Currently, we don't have a way to cure HIV because that latent reservoir is always hiding in our body, but this could prove to be a stepping stone towards a cure if successful. Number eight, medical express. African women living with HIV have an effective option to prevent malaria during pregnancy. Clinical trial finds. The mama, spelled M-A-M-A-H, clinical trial, coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, has shown that preventive treatment with dihydro-art-a-mizzening and peperoquine, D-H-A-P-P-Q, for short, is a safe and effective strategy to prevent malaria during pregnancy in women living with HIV. Pregnant women are vulnerable to malaria, and the usual preventive treatment is incompatible with cotrimoxazole. CTX, an antibiotic given to people with HIV. This study conducted in Gabon and Mozambique involved over 600 pregnant women taking CTX and antiretroviral treatment for HIV. Those receiving D-H-A-P-P-Q had significantly lower risks of developing clinical malaria throughout pregnancy and becoming infected. The strategy could significantly improve the health of pregnant women with HIV in malaria endemic areas, benefiting thousands of mothers and babies in sub-Saharan Africa. Number nine, plus magazine. Meet the young black heroes fighting for prep access at HBCUs. The Human Rights Campaign has launched an initiative focused on historically black colleges and universities, also called HBCUs, to counter the decline in the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis. In the fight against HIV, particularly among black and brown communities, a team of 12 students will serve as prep peer educators with the mission to combat HIV and AIDS-related stigma on HBCU campuses through public awareness campaigns. The program, funded by Gilead Sciences, aims to fill the knowledge gap about prep, reduce stigma, and address the decline in black and brown individuals, specifically black gay men, initiating and sustaining prep usage. Number 10, Daily Mail. Treatment satisfaction is high among HIV patients, but stigma remains. The largest UK survey of people living with HIV, known as the Positive Voices Survey, reveals that about 4.3% of respondents reported experiencing verbal harassment due to their HIV status in the past year. And an equal percentage said family members made discriminatory remarks. The UK Health Security Agency conducted the survey, which included 4,618 people with diagnosed HIV in the year to March 2023. While there has been a slight improvement in measures of stigma since the first survey in 2017, it remains a concern for respondents. The findings indicate a need for continued efforts to eliminate HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Number 11, Plus Magazine. The world leaders keeping HIV alive. The United Nations continues to pursue the goal of mostly eradicating AIDS by 2030. But challenges persist due to a global backlash against LGBTQ plus individuals and other marginalized groups, according to Winnie Bianjima, the executive director of UN AIDS. Bianjima highlighted that countries criminalizing LGBTQ plus people, sex work, and drug users often experience increased or stagnant HIV infections. Persistent stigma, discrimination, and a lack of sex education are contributing factors. While progress is noted in Africa, some regions, such as Eastern Europe, are facing setbacks. Bianjima emphasized the need for global support and funding for local community organizations providing HIV resources, including treatment and prevention services, as part of the solution to address the challenges. And as a bit of a teaser, I'm looking forward to interviewing an expert in HIV in Eastern Europe because it's so hardly talked about and so hard for me to find news articles about it, which I have the interview scheduled very soon. However, the actual interview edited and completed won't be coming out until later in the spring, so stay tuned. Number 12, Cyan Mag. Priming, shaping, and polishing in search of an HIV vaccine. Amsterdam UMC, led by Professor Roger Sanders, is spearheading a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop the world's first effective HIV vaccine. The initiative aims to design and test immunogens that induce neutralizing antibodies against the virus. While developing an HIV vaccine has proven challenging, recent optimism stems from progress in early phase research, particularly in inducing broadly neutralizing antibodies, which I have been mentioning a lot. Some of you are probably getting very familiar with hearing about broadly neutralizing antibodies. Sanders team collaborates with researchers from Stanford University, while Cornell Medical College and the University of Louisiana focusing on germline targeting to activate immune cells capable of producing antibodies that neutralize HIV. The researchers anticipate reaching their goals within five years with the 4.5 million euro grant from the Gates Foundation. Number 13, Gay Times. Meet the activist running a shelter in Uganda for people living with HIV. The Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda, one of the world's harshest anti-LGBTQIA plus laws, has led to fears of setbacks in HIV prevention and treatment efforts. The legislation, which imposes the death penalty for quote, aggravated cases of homosexuality, whatever that means, including HIV transmission has created a climate of fear, hindering access to healthcare for LGBTQIA plus individuals. Medication is becoming harder to obtain due to concerns about disclosure to law enforcement, resulting in a decline in prep usage and challenges in accessing HIV treatment. Additionally, organizations supporting the LGBTQIA plus community like the Foster Foundation for Healthcare Uganda have faced rates, property destruction, and increased challenges in providing essential services. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to address these issues, supporting shelter maintenance, replacing stolen resources, and establishing a legal clinic to challenge criminal charges and provide justice for community members. If you are interested in checking out the GoFundMe, I will include the link after the link to this article in the description box below. I noticed that they had a most recent update as of January 2nd, 2024. Number 14, Out Sports. Ex-Rugby star Gareth Thomas gets honorary doctorate for his HIV advocacy. Gareth Thomas, the former Welsh national rugby player and the first openly gay professional rugby union player, has been awarded an honorary doctorate of science at Queen Mary University in London for his advocacy work around HIV. Thomas, who publicly revealed his HIV positive status in 2019, has been a prominent advocate for ending the stigma associated with HIV. The honorary doctorate recognizes his significant contributions in raising awareness and challenging perceptions about HIV. Thomas, through his Tackle HIV initiative, aims to destigmatize HIV, and his advocacy has garnered support from high-profile figures like Prince Harry. The honorary doctorate underscores Thomas' commitment to addressing HIV-related challenges and changing public perceptions. Number 15, last but not least, Medical Express. Higher viral load during HIV infection can shape viral evolution. A recent paper in molecular biology and evolution reveals that higher viral loads in individuals with HIV are associated with increased rates of viral recombination. Recombination is a crucial factor in HIV's evolution, allowing for the exchange of genetic information across virus strains and contributing to drug resistance. The study used a new approach called recombination analysis via time series linkage decay. It's okay if you don't know what that is, I don't either, to quantify recombination. Results indicate that individuals with higher viral loads have significantly higher rates of recombination, shedding light on the dynamics of HIV evolution. I believe this was already kind of suspected, but it's always great when we have studies that can back that hypothesis up with some real data. And people with higher viral loads, quote, the results suggest that rates of HIV recombination can be even more extreme than researchers recognized previously, end quote. This is one of the reasons why getting on treatment, staying on treatment, and getting to undetectable is so important. Links to all these articles can be found in the description box below this video. Be sure to like this video, subscribe if you haven't already, hit that bell so you get a notification every time a new video comes out. And please share this with anyone who might find value in this content. Those are the best ways you can help support me and my channel. Until next time, cheers!