New research presented at AIDS 2026 demonstrates that HIV treatment continues to evolve, with growing evidence supporting both simplified 2-drug regimens and long-acting injectable therapies designed to improve adherence and quality of life.

Jean van Wyk, MD, chief medical officer at ViiV Healthcare, discussed with Infection Control Today®, said the expanding treatment landscape gives people living with HIV more choices than ever before.

"The important thing is clear communication and joint decision making," van Wyk said. "It's not for the physician to just decide what's best for the person sitting in front of them. It has to be a joint decision on what suits that person best."

Among the studies presented was new data from the Long-Acting Treatment in Adolescents (LATA) trial, which found superior outcomes for long-acting injectable therapy compared with daily oral treatment in adolescents living with HIV.

"Adherence is a real issue in adolescents," van Wyk said. "That's why long-acting injectables are a really good option for adolescents."

He explained that injectable therapy removes the challenge of remembering to take a daily pill, while clinic-administered treatment results in consistently high adherence rates.

Long-acting treatment may also help reduce HIV-related stigma because patients no longer need to keep medications at home or take pills every day.

Beyond long-acting therapy, van Wyk highlighted the VOGUE study comparing the 2-drug regimen Dovato with the 3-drug regimen Biktarvy. The findings demonstrated comparable efficacy while potentially reducing patients' lifetime exposure to medications.

Despite these advances, van Wyk emphasized that significant challenges remain.

"We have great options, but why is it that between a quarter and a third of people around the globe do not have virologic suppression?" he said. "There's clearly a big unmet medical need still."

Looking ahead, he remains optimistic that continued innovation, broader access to treatment, and stronger collaboration will help advance the global HIV response.

"The whole model needs to be rethought," van Wyk said. "It is possible, and I'm always an optimist. I know we will get there. We just have to all work together."