"Gene therapies are another approach that has been validated with approvals in recent years. Now, this modality is being considered for its potential as a functional cure for HIV. Research being conducted at Oregon Health & Science University has led to funding from NIAID to study a single-dose gene therapy that could suppress HIV within patients living with the condition. The drug at the centre of the research is leronlimab, a monoclonal antibody being developed by CytoDyn, which has been found to prevent nonhuman primates from being infected with the monkey form of HIV.

As the next stage in the process, researchers will attempt to create a synthetic AAV vector to enable the long-term production of leronlimab inside the body, which could be created in muscle cells. Leronlimab blocks HIV from entering immune cells due to a surface protein called CCR5. The drug functions by mimicking a CCR5-deficient donor by occupying all available CCR5 molecules. If the treatment were to be successful, patients would no longer need to take antiretroviral therapy. Once created, the gene therapy will be tested on rhesus macaques that have been exposed to a monkey version of HIV, after which the nonhuman primates will be assessed for safety and efficacy.

Similar to the mRNA approach, the gene therapy treatment is still a number of years away from being approved for patients. However, the development of potential therapeutics using such emerging technologies offers hope that a viable, effective cure for HIV may be emerging on the horizon."

https://pharmaphorum.com/r-d/the-continued-se...re-to-hiv/