Empowered Patient Podcast The Potential of a Functional Cure for HIV with Dr. Marc Conant Addimmune
Dr. Marc Conant, Chief Medical Officer at Addimmune, has been working on HIV/AIDS for over 40 years and highlights the progress that has been made in developing effective HIV drugs. The mission at Addimmune is to develop a functional cure for HIV by modifying the patient's cells to enhance the immune system's ability to control the virus. This autologous cell therapy approach has been used successfully in treating leukemia and lymphoma and shows promise in suppressing HIV.
Marc explains, "I started caring for AIDS patients in 1981, and it wasn't until AGT came along in 1988, '87, '88, that we even had anything that would work. Up until that time, everyone who contracted the disease died. HIV kills about 94% of people who are infected. What we saw early on with AGT was a drug that suppressed the virus, and then we found the next drug that suppressed the virus, and then the next one, and now we have close to 40 different drugs that can suppress the virus."
"Now, there's been even a step beyond that. You all probably see on your television every night injections that can be given once every two months, and sure enough, that works and works great, so instead of taking a pill every day, you only need to see a doctor six times a year. Every two months, you go in for two injections, and you're good for two months. And compliance is better. Patients remember to take their drug because it's given to them in an injection."
"All of that, though, still requires putting in a drug. We're hoping to take the patient's cells, modify them, put them back in the patient, and have a one-and-done treatment for the rest of his life with these modified cells, which helps the patient's immune system control the virus. The virus will be suppressed. The patient will not need to take more medication. The patient will not have side effects. The patient doesn't have to remember to take his drugs, and we've got a functional cure that will control the disease."
#Addimmune #HIV #AIDS #HIVAIDS #CARTCell #CellTherapy #FunctionalCure #HIVTreatment #AutologousCellTherapy