A Low-cost, Automated and Rapid Home HIV Viral Load Test

Ai Biosciences, Inc., College Station TX

Investigators

Abstract

Approximately 37 million people are living with HIV, with 15 million accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART). Recently revised WHO guidelines recommend that all people diagnosed with HIV be offered ART at any CD4 count, which will result in many more people on ART. Current ART regimens are very potent and reduce HIV viral load in blood to undetectable levels in most patients, which in turn significantly reduces mortality and morbidity and reduces transmission of HIV. However, viral rebound can occur through non-adherence or resistance. In either case, it is critical to identify viral rebound as early as possible in order to avoid drug resistance and clinical progression. The ability to easily monitor HIV plasma RNA in blood at home would help identify viral rebound early and allow intervention. Ideally, HIV RNA testing at home should be as easy as glucose monitoring for diabetics. If priced appropriately, this technology may be useful for home monitoring in resource limited settings where patients live far from the clinical care site. Such a technology could also be used for home monitoring of individuals enrolled in clinical trials involving a treatment interruption who need to have their viral load monitored very frequently, in-home monitoring for individuals using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), where HIV infection must be detected very early to avoid resistance to the drugs in the PrEP regimen, and in-home monitoring for high risk individuals to allow early detection and early treatment, which may lead to smaller HIV reservoirs and reduced transmission.