# Bimonthly Administered Long-Acting Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine Are Highly Effective and Well-Tolerated in People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Above 65 Years

**Authors:** Andrea Calcagno, Caterina Candela, Agostino Riva, Stefano Calza, Benedetta Fioretti, Samuele Gardini, Jovana Milic, Benedetto Maurizio Celesia, Giancarlo Orofino, Andrea De Vito, Giuseppe Vittorio De Socio, Maria Vittoria Cossu, Federica Barrera, Maria Mazzitelli, Silvia Nozza, Giovanni Guaraldi, Emanuele Focà, Stefania Arsuffi, Stefania Arsuffi, Domenico Azzolino, Marta Baroni, Giuseppe Bellelli, Luca Bonaffini, Paolo Bonfanti, Andrea Calcagno, Stefano Calza, Annamaria Cattelan, Benedetto Maurizio Celesia, Alessandra Coin, Giuseppe De Socio, Giovanni Di Perri, Micol Ferrara, Benedetta Fioretti, Emanuele Focà, Giovanni Guaraldi, Francesca Italiani, Alessandro Lazzaro, Tiziano Lucchi, Maria Grazia Maddalone, Giordano Madeddu, Alessandra Marengoni, Claudio Mastroianni, Jovana Milić, Chiara Mussi, Silvia Nozza, Giancarlo Orofino, Lavinia Patetta, Andrea Piazzoli, Stefania Piconi, Paola Pignata, Silvia Pontiggia, Agostino Riva, Anna Spolti

PMC · DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofaf817 · 2026-01-06

## TL;DR

Long-acting HIV treatment is effective and well-tolerated in people over 65 with HIV, according to a study with 135 participants.

## Contribution

Demonstrates the efficacy and safety of bimonthly LA-CAB/RPV in older HIV patients, an underrepresented group.

## Key findings

- All participants maintained virological suppression after 17.4 months of treatment.
- 11.1% of participants discontinued the treatment within the first 12 months.
- One case of HBV reactivation occurred 19.4 months after starting treatment.

## Abstract

Older people with HIV (PWH) may benefit from long-acting cabotegravir/rilpivirine (LA-CAB/RPV), a population underrepresented in trials and observational cohorts. In the GEPPO cohort, 135 PWH >65 years of age received bimonthly LA-CAB/RPV. After 17.4 months, virological suppression (HIV-RNA <50 copies/mL) was maintained in all, while 15 participants discontinued them (11.1%, 10% in the first 12 months): 1 participant with isolated HbCAb at baseline showed a late HBV reactivation (19.4 months after starting). These findings support LA-CAB/RPV's efficacy and tolerability in older PWH.

## Linked entities

- **Chemicals:** cabotegravir (PubChem CID 54713659), rilpivirine (PubChem CID 6451164)

## Full-text entities

- **Chemicals:** Rilpivirine (MESH:D000068696), LA-CAB (-)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (no rank) [taxon 11676], Human immunodeficiency virus (species) [taxon 12721]

## Figures

1 figure with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12810048/full.md

---
Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12810048