Maraviroc treatment

[testii28]

A friend of a friend was treated with biktarvy and maraviroc in Germany. Now he is since almost 1,5 years virus free and don't have to take any medication. Why they don't offer this option also to us? Isn't it worth a try?

[daveR]

I couldn't find anything documented about that on the internet. I would have expected one of the HIV sites to have heard of it. Can you please get some more details from your friend of a friend?  Dr's name, hospital name. Details of their stats, how long infected, viral load. How long they took the medication.
Let's be honest, if it was as simple as a couple of pills for a short while, we would all be doing it.

[testii28]

I will try to get the information as soon as possible. They are offering in Germany even neutralizing antibodies treatment. If all is really true I will move back then for a while.
The are calling it "functional healing". The virus can come back in some cases after a few years but so what.  I think it is worth it.

[Jim Allen]

Hiya,

Not sure why your friend of a friend isn't taking their meds, However, they are not virus-free and Maraviroc (Selzentry) + Biktarvy certainly doesn't cure HIV functionally or otherwise.

It is well documented that with standard treatment alone, outliers have gone off treatment and maintained a suppressed viral load for months or sometimes years. Just an example, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34117753/ & https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31225610/ or more extreme; https://www.poz.com/article/9yearold-child-born-hiv-spent-8-years-viral-remission
https://www.poz.com/article/mississippi-child-update-26958-2709

Maraviroc is an entry inhibitor and has been around for years, within the EU since 2007. In the past, just like many other HIV meds, it has been used in studies in combination with new novel treatments to study the possibilities of functional cures.

Maraviroc:
https://www.poz.com/drug/selzentry

In combination with bone marrow transplants: https://www.poz.com/article/man-hiv-longterm-viral-remission-intensified-treatment

Note they did rebound in 2021.

Lopez-Huertas MR, Gutierrez C, Madrid-Elena N, Hernandez-Novoa B, Olalla-Sierra J, Plana M, et al. Prolonged Administration of Maraviroc Reactivates Latent HIV In Vivo But it Does Not Prevent Antiretroviral-Free Viral Rebound.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33339855/