'Another step closer': Western University researchers work on cure for AIDS

Researchers at Western University are another step closer to finding an "effective and affordable targeted treatment strategy for an HIV cure," according to the school.

The treatment is an HIV-virus-like-particle (HLP),which are dead HIV particles hosting a comprehensive set of HIV proteins that increase immune responses without infecting a person.

When compared with other potential cure approaches, Western said HLP is an affordable biotherapeutic and can be administered by intramuscular injection, similar to the seasonal flu vaccine. 

“The development of this HIV cure was 10 years in the making, but with strong support from our collaborators in the U.S., Canada and Uganda, we have observed a striking ability of HLP to drive out the last remnants of HIV-1, which we hope will provide an affordable cure for all,” said  Eric Arts, a professor at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and who is a Canada research chair in HIV Pathogenesis and Viral Control. “To live HIV-free is a goal for the 39 million infected. It is also the priority of the UN and WHO to end the HIV pandemic by 2030.” 

HIV is a retrovirus that attacks the body’s immune system and if left untreated, can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

The virus weakens a person’s immune system by destroying specific white blood cells, which help the immune system fight infections.

Approximately 95 per cent of people living with HIV have chronic HIV, where the virus is slowly causing a slow destruction of the patients’ immune systems.

"The hope that comes with this study is one that has potential global impact,” said Ryan Ho, co-lead author and master’s student in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

It’s an impact that Martin McIntosh said is profound. The executive director of HIV/AIDS Connection appreciates first-hand the significance of this advancement in research.

"For people living with HIV, such as myself, [and who] are living good healthy lives, thanks to the advancements of science and research that has been going on over the past several decades. What this means to me today — a sense of hope,” said McIntosh.

Ho volunteered with HIV/AIDS Connection for the past two years, which is something McIntosh said forms a bridge between research and community.

"He shows up to understand that the research being done in the lab is about people," said McIntosh.

The intervention is set for human trials later this year. 

— With files from CTV News London's Reta Ismail