Long-acting Cabenuva outperforms daily oral therapy in unsuppressed HIV

Long-acting Cabenuva (cabotegravir/rilpivirine) achieved higher rates of viral suppression than daily oral ART at six months, meeting the phase 3b CROWN trial’s primary endpoint, ViiV Healthcare reported.

CROWN is an international, randomized, open-label study that enrolled approximately 326 adults and adolescents at 85 sites across eight countries. It evaluated whether people with detectable HIV despite previous oral treatment could directly start long-acting injections, administered six times yearly, and achieve viral suppression. Participants had no evidence of resistance to integrase inhibitors or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

The study addresses an important question: whether patients could benefit from starting injectable treatment before achieving viral suppression on oral therapy. Cabenuva’s current indication requires existing viral suppression, among other eligibility criteria; initiation in people with detectable viremia remains investigational.

The announcement did not provide suppression percentages or detailed safety findings, limiting assessment of clinical benefit and risk. ViiV plans to share the data with health authorities for regulatory review and present full results at an upcoming scientific meeting.

“These findings add to the growing body of data around long-acting treatment with cabotegravir plus rilpivirine, and provide important insights into the potential role of this approach for treatment-experienced people living with HIV,” said Jean van Wyk, ViiV’s chief medical officer.

Source: ViiV Healthcare. (2026 Oct 6). ViiV HEALTHCARE’S LONG-ACTING HIV TREATMENT CABENUVA (CABOTEGRAVIR + RILPIVIRINE) MEETS PRIMARY ENDPOINT OF SUPERIOR VIRAL SUPPRESSION VS. DAILY ORAL THERAPY IN PEOPLE WITH VIREMIA