An existing blood cancer drug is demonstrating the potential to target dormant HIV cells.

Latent, or ‘silent’, HIV cells have long posed a challenge, as they remain unaffected by current therapies, resulting in the lifelong treatment required for people living with HIV.

Researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) and The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity have conducted a groundbreaking study involving the blood cancer drug venetoclax to eliminate these hibernating HIV-infected cells and delay the virus's re-emergence. 

Current treatments can only suppress the virus but cannot permanently prevent its resurgence.

The study, which is the first to assess venetoclax's impact on HIV persistence in pre-clinical models, is now moving into a clinical trial phase in Denmark and Australia. 

The trial will evaluate the repurposing of venetoclax as a potential pathway toward an HIV cure. 

An estimated 39 million people worldwide live with HIV, including over 29,400 Australians. 

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the standard treatment, effectively suppressing the virus but unable to target the dormant HIV-infected cells. These cells can reactivate quickly if the medication is discontinued.

The study revealed that venetoclax, when used alone, delayed the virus's rebound by two weeks, even without ART. 

This breakthrough discovery provides hope for millions of individuals living with HIV worldwide.

The research also uncovered that combining venetoclax with another drug acting on the same pathway could further extend the delay in viral rebound while reducing the duration of venetoclax treatment.

Venetoclax, marketed as VENCLEXTA, is the result of a research collaboration between WEHI, Roche, Genentech, and AbbVie. 

It has been successfully used to treat blood cancers. The Phase I/IIb clinical trial using venetoclax for HIV treatment is scheduled to begin at the end of the year in Denmark, with plans to expand to Melbourne in 2024.

However, researchers have cautioned that the results in humanised mice may not directly translate to humans, emphasising the need for systematic assessment through clinical trials.

More details are accessible here.