Weekly HIV Tablet Matches Daily Regimen in International Trial

An international phase‑3 trial (ISLEND‑1) involving 607 adults at 106 sites across 12 countries found that a once‑weekly oral tablet combining islatravir and lenacapavir is non‑inferior to the leading daily HIV therapy. After 48 weeks, more than 93 % of participants in both the weekly and daily arms maintained viral suppression, and no virologic failures occurred among those on the weekly regimen.

The study, led by researchers including Professor Chloe Orkin of Queen Mary University of London and supported by the University Hospital Bonn, was presented at the International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings suggest a new treatment option that could lessen daily pill burden, reduce stigma and treatment fatigue, and offer flexibility without requiring injectable therapies.