Can a single antibody help people with HIV pause their pills?
NCT ID NCT04860323
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looked at whether an experimental antibody called VRC01 could help people with HIV control the virus after they stop taking their daily HIV medication. Thirteen people who had received VRC01 or a placebo in an earlier study and later got HIV took part. They paused their HIV drugs under close monitoring to see how long their immune system could keep the virus in check.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- VRC01 (an experimental antibody)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward ways to help some people with HIV control the virus without daily medication.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early study with only 13 participants. It is designed to gather information, not to prove a treatment works. Stopping HIV medication carries risks, including virus rebound.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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13 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2021
- Finished
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Feb 2025
- Lead sponsor
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A research network
The lead sponsor is a research network or cooperative group.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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Children (under 18), adults (18 to 64) and older adults (65 and over)
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Estimated date of HIV-1 acquisition within 8 weeks (ie, before or after) having received an HVTN 703/HPTN 081 infusion. * Initiated ART within 28 weeks of HVTN 703/HPTN 081 date of HIV-1 diagnosis. * Receiving continuous ART for at least 1 year. ART interruptions of up to 7 days in duration and ≥ 90 days prior to enrollment are acceptable. Within- and between-class changes in ART within the previous year are acceptable. * If on an NNRTI, willingness and ability to switch to a PI- or INSTI-containing regimen for at least 4 weeks prior to ART interruption. * Willingness to interrupt ART for up to 24 weeks or up to the time of meeting ART re-initiation criteria. * Willingness to re-initiate ART upon meeting study ART re-initiation criteria. * Willingness to use barrier protection (ie, male or female condoms) for all sexual activity during ATI and until confirmation of viral suppression following ART re-initiation. * Willingness for CRS staff to contact primary HIV care provider to exchange information regarding HVTN 805/HPTN 093 and participant medical history. * Site investigator anticipates that a fully active alternative ART regimen could be constructed and would be available in the event of virologic failure on the participant's current ART regimen. * Access to a participating CRS and willingness to adhere to study visit schedule and to be followed for the planned duration of the study. * Ability and willingness to provide informed consent. * Assessment of understanding: volunteer demonstrates understanding of this study; completes a questionnaire prior to enrollment with verbal demonstration of understanding of all questionnaire items answered incorrectly. * Agrees not to enroll in another study of an investigational research agent for the duration of the participant's trial participation. Laboratory Inclusion Values: Immunology/Virology * HIV-1 infection, with reactive HIV-1 antibody and any Multispot or Geenius HIV-1/HIV-2 results, documented by the HVTN 703/HPTN 081 HIV diagnostic algorithm. * Plasma HIV-1 RNA ≥ 1,000 copies/mL by any assay, prior to initiating ART. * CD4+ T cell count ≥ 450 cells/mm3 obtained within 90 days prior to enrollment. * One plasma HIV-1 RNA below the lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of an VQA-certified or DAIDS-approved assay and collected at each of the following: * at screening, within 90 days prior to enrollment; and * greater than 9 months prior to the screening HIV-1 RNA. Note: Sites must have results from locally available assays that are approved as standard-of-care by their regional governing bodies. Hematology * Hemoglobin (Hgb) ≥ 10.0 g/dL * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 750 cells/mm3 * Platelets ≥ 100,000 cells/mm3 Chemistry * Alanine aminotrasferase (ALT) \< 2.5 times the institutional upper limit of normal and direct bilirubin within the institutional range of normal. * Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) \> 60 mL/min/1.73m2 Reproductive Status * Volunteers capable of becoming pregnant: negative serum or urine beta human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG) pregnancy test performed at the screening visit and prior to enrollment. Persons who are NOT capable of becoming pregnant due to having reached menopause (no menses for 1 year) or having undergone total hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy or tubal ligation (verified by medical records) are not required to undergo pregnancy testing. * Reproductive status: A volunteer who is capable of becoming pregnant must agree to consistently use effective contraception (ie, IUD or hormonal) for sexual activity that could lead to pregnancy from at least 21 days prior to enrollment through confirmation of viral suppression following ART re-initiation. * Volunteers capable of becoming pregnant must also agree not to seek pregnancy through alternative methods, such as artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization, until after confirmation of viral suppression following ART re-initiation. Exclusion Criteria: * Any plasma HIV-1 RNA ≥ LLOQ of VQA-certified or DAIDS-approved assay (LLOQ: 75, 50, 40, or 20 copies/mL) within 12 months prior to enrollment. NOTE: Two "blips" (ie, plasma HIV-1 RNA \> LLOQ) \< 400 copies/mL are allowed if preceded and followed by values \< LLOQ and if the blips occur more than 6 months prior to enrollment. Note: Sites must have results from locally available assays that are approved as standard-of-care by their regional governing bodies. * History of AIDS-defining illnesses or US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Category C events per the current list on the CDC website. * Autoimmune disease, including Type I diabetes mellitus (Not excluded from participation: Volunteer with mild, stable and uncomplicated autoimmune disease that does not require consistent immunosuppressive medication and that, in the judgment of the site investigator, is likely not subject to exacerbation and likely not to complicate AE assessments). * Immunosuppressive medications received within 6 months before enrollment (Not exclusionary: \[1\] corticosteroid nasal spray; \[2\] inhaled corticosteroids; \[3\] topical corticosteroids for mild, uncomplicated dermatologic condition; or \[4\] a single course of oral/parenteral prednisone or equivalent at doses \< 60 mg/day and length of therapy \< 11 days with completion at least 30 days prior to enrollment). * Blood products received within 120 days before planned ART interruption. * Investigational research agents, other than experimental vaccine(s), received within 30 days before planned ART interruption. * HIV or non-HIV experimental vaccine(s) received within the last 1 year. Exceptions may be made by the HVTN 805/HPTN 093 PSRT for vaccines that have subsequently undergone licensure by the FDA or by the national regulatory authority where the volunteer is enrolling. For volunteers who have received control/placebo in an experimental vaccine trial, the HVTN 805/HPTN 093 PSRT will determine eligibility on a case-by-case basis. For volunteers who have received an experimental vaccine(s) greater than 1 year ago, eligibility for enrollment will be determined by the HVTN 805/HPTN 093 PSRT on a case-by-case basis. * Licensed live attenuated vaccines received within 30 days before planned ART interruption (eg, measles, mumps, and rubella \[MMR\]; oral polio vaccine \[OPV\]; varicella; yellow fever; live attenuated influenza vaccine). * Licensed vaccines that are not live attenuated vaccines received within 14 days before planned ART interruption (eg, tetanus, pneumococcal, hepatitis A or B, influenza). * Receipt of any emergency-use authorized, WHO emergency use listed, licensed or registered SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) vaccine within 4 weeks before planned ART interruption. Note: SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is not required for HVTN 805/HPTN 093 eligibility * Significant or unstable cardiac or cerebrovascular disease (eg, angina, congestive heart failure \[CHF\], recent cerebrovascular accident \[CVA\], or myocardial infarction \[MI\]). * Positive Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or positive HCV RNA (Not exclusionary: positive HCV Ab with negative HCV RNA). * Pregnant or breastfeeding * Volunteers who have: * a SARS-CoV-2 positive test (direct viral detection, eg, viral nucleic acid or antigen detection) ≤ 14 days of enrollment, if asymptomatic OR * unresolved COVID-19 (ie, SARS-CoV-2 positive test AND symptoms) ≤ 14 days of enrollment (not excluded: individuals with symptoms consistent with residual sequelae of resolved COVID-19, in the clinical judgement of the investigator) * Clinically significant medical condition, physical examination findings, clinically significant abnormal laboratory results, or past medical history with clinically significant implications for current health. A clinically significant condition or process includes but is not limited to: * A process that would affect the immune response; * A process that would require medication that affects the immune response; * Any contraindication to repeated blood draws, including inability to establish venous access; * A condition that requires active medical intervention or monitoring to avert grave danger to the volunteer's health or well-being during the study period; or * Any condition specifically mentioned among the exclusion criteria. * Any medical, psychiatric, occupational, or other condition that, in the judgment of the investigator, would interfere with, or serve as a contraindication to, protocol adherence, assessment of safety, or a volunteer's ability to give informed consent. * Any medical, psychiatric, occupational, or other condition that, in the judgment of the investigator, could be exacerbated by events associated with protocol participation, which include: ATI, low-level viremia, subsequent viral rebound, and ART re-initiation. * HIV dementia or other neurologic disease that, in the judgment of the investigator, would be a contraindication to study participation. * Psychiatric condition that precludes compliance with the protocol. Specifically excluded are persons with psychoses within the past 3 years, ongoing risk for suicide, or history of suicide attempt or gesture within the past 3 years. * Malignancy (Not excluded from participation: Volunteer who has had malignancy excised surgically and who, in the investigator's judgment, has a reasonable assurance of sustained cure, or who is unlikely to experience recurrence of malignancy during the period of the study). * Current untreated or incompletely treated active tuberculosis disease or current latent tuberculosis infection (Not excluded from participation: Volunteer who has latent tuberculosis infection and is undergoing treatment, with at least one month of treatment completed) * Untreated or incompletely treated syphilis, gonorrhea, or chlamydia infection
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Blantyre CRS
Blantyre, Malawi
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CAPRISA eThekwini CRS
Durban, South Africa
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Gaborone CRS
Gaborone, Botswana
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Kliptown Soweto CRS
Johannesburg, South Africa
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Malawi CRS
Lilongwe, Malawi
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Milton Park CRS
Harare, Zimbabwe
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Rustenburg CRS
Rustenburg, South Africa
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Seke South CRS
Harare, Zimbabwe
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Spilhaus CRS
Harare, Zimbabwe
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Vulindlela CRS
Durban, South Africa
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Ward 21 CRS
Johannesburg, South Africa
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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