Location:
The Kirby Institute Level 6 Seminar Room Wallace Wurth Building UNSW Australia Sydney NSW 2052
Open to
All
Contact for enquiries
Rata Joseph +61 (0)2 9385 0900 rjoseph@kirby.unsw.edu.au
The Kirby Institute is pleased to present:
Professor Sean Emery-Therapeutic and Vaccine Research Program Head, Kirby Institute
"Results and implications of the Strategic Timing of Anti-Retroviral Treatment trial(START)."
Abstract:
The START study was the first randomised clinical trial to examine the initiation of antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive individuals with CD4+ cell counts greater than 500 cells/mm3.
The study, which was carried out by the International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT), enrolled 4,685 individuals who had never taken antiretroviral therapy with a CD4+ count in the normal range (above 500 cells/mm3). One-half of the participants were randomised to initiate antiretroviral treatment immediately (early treatment) and one-half were randomised to receive treatment once their CD4+ count declined to 350 cells/mm3. Participants were enrolled at 215 sites in 35 countries, including Australia.
Four international centres coordinated the work of sites in START:
• The Kirby Institute at UNSW Australia.
• The Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Trials Unit at University College London.
• The Copenhagen HIV Programme at the Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
• The Veterans Affairs Medical Center affiliated with George Washington University in Washington, DC.
The University of Minnesota served as the statistical and data management centre and trial sponsor.
Funding for the START trial was provided by the National Institutes for Health (NIH), the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC), and a number of government organisations based in Europe.
The HIV medicines used in the trial are approved medications donated by AbbVie, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline/ViiV Healthcare, Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, and Merck Sharp and Dohme Corp.
The results of the START study will be presented at the 8th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Vancouver 19-22 July 2015. The Kirby seminar will have these findings presented by Professor Emery, co-ordinating investigator of the START study from the Kirby Institute at UNSW Australia.