Antibody Suppresses HIV

Discussed in this article by The Science Daily, an antibody has been discovered that suppresses HIV for up to four months. This study was conducted in Taiwan and led by Dr. Chang Yi Wang. Twenty-nine volunteers with well-controlled HIV discontinued their normal regimen of daily normal ART at the time of their first infusion. Fourteen of the participants received eight weekly infusions of UB-421 and fifteen of the participants received eight higher dose infusions. At the end of the treatment all the participants started up their regular ART regimen. One participant discontinued due to a skin rash side effect but all the other participants maintained HIV suppression during the study. UB-421 avoids the possibility of HIV mutation by blocking a stable human protein that HIV uses to infect the T cells. Resistance to UB-421 was not seen because the small study did not include a comparator group receiving a placebo infusion. Further studies are planned in Taiwan to evaluate the safety and efficacy  of UB-421 as a treatment for HIV. We are constantly looking for better treatments and this could potentially be another very successful treatment for many HIV patients worldwide.

Microscopic image of an HIV infected T Cell