ViiV's long-acting HIV shot faces its adolescent test at AIDS 2026
The LATA trial's week 96 data, due July 29, will show whether injectable cabotegravir plus rilpivirine holds up against daily pills in African teenagers, a population long-acting HIV therapy has not yet been tested in at this scale.
Executive Summary
- A Phase 3, open-label, non-inferiority trial in HIV-positive adolescents will report its week 96 results at an oral presentation at the International AIDS Conference, testing whether a long-acting injectable regimen can replace daily pills in this population.
- The drug combination is already approved and marketed for adults with HIV, so this readout is about population extension rather than proof of a new mechanism.
- The trial closed enrollment at its target with a stable protocol history, so the readout carries no timing or execution caveat going into the presentation.
- Long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine already has a body of same-drug precedent in adults, so the field's benchmark is replication of that adult efficacy band in a younger, resource-limited population rather than a first efficacy signal.
The presentation
ViiV Healthcare said late-breaking week 96 results from the LATA study, led by University College London, will evaluate the efficacy, safety and acceptability of long-acting cabotegravir plus rilpivirine against daily oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/lamivudine/dolutegravir in virologically suppressed adolescents living with HIV across sub-Saharan Africa. The presentation is scheduled for July 29, 2026, at AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro. The trial is registered as NCT05154747 and enrolled participants in Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. ViiV+1ViiV Healthcare to present phase IIIb data comparing Dovato with Biktarvy in treatment-naïve adults; alongside INSTI-powered long-acting injectable innovation at AIDS 2026Jul 21, 2026Long-Acting Treatment in Adolescents (LATA)NCT05154747
Probability of SuccessBased on the AppliedXL Probability of Success model. For more information about the methodology, read the research here.
The design
LATA is a randomized, open-label, non-inferiority trial that enrolled 476 adolescents aged 12 to 19 who were already virologically suppressed on antiretroviral therapy. Its primary outcome is confirmed virological rebound, defined by prior trial documentation as two consecutive viral loads of 50 copies per milliliter or more measured through week 96. Secondary outcomes span viral load thresholds, HIV drug resistance mutations, and safety measures including injection-site reactions. Enrollment reached its 476-patient target with a 3.5% increase over the original 460-patient plan, a change within the routine band for a trial of this design. NCT05154747Long-Acting Treatment in Adolescents (LATA)NCT05154747
Operational context
The trial moved to Active, not recruiting once enrollment closed in April 2024, then to Unknown status in April 2026, a registry classification that follows automatically when a study's status has not been reconfirmed near its anticipated completion window. Its primary completion date was recorded as March 2025, roughly a year and a half after enrollment closed, consistent with the trial's 96-week follow-up design. The protocol shows one enrollment adjustment and one eligibility-criteria change since 2021, a change frequency the registry-churn proxy labels stable. NCT05154747Long-Acting Treatment in Adolescents (LATA)NCT05154747
What the drug already is
Long-acting cabotegravir plus rilpivirine is approved in the United States as Cabenuva for HIV-1 treatment in virologically suppressed adults and adolescents 12 and older weighing at least 35 kilograms, delivered as intramuscular injections. That existing approval sets the bar for LATA: the trial does not need to establish a new mechanism, it needs to show the regimen's adult efficacy profile extends to adolescents who have been virologically suppressed on oral therapy, in a lower-resource, sub-Saharan African setting where adherence to daily pills has been documented as harder to sustain.
The competitive field
Long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine already has same-drug precedent in adults: earlier ViiV-sponsored trials of the identical combination in virologically suppressed adults, and a related switch study in treatment-naive adults, share the same target and modality as LATA. Gilead Sciences' bictegravir-based regimens and Merck's islatravir and doravirine programs sit in the same HIV-1 integrase and reverse-transcriptase mechanism space but are tested in adult populations, not adolescents. Across HIV-1 integrase-targeted Phase 3 trials in HIV-1 infection, 56 have completed and 6 have terminated, a 10% historical termination rate in this class.
This analysis was produced using AI-assisted reporting systems, AppliedXL data, and official public records. These systems undergo editorial review, quality checks, and regular audits by human experts. Errors may still occur, as with any automated system. Always consult the linked primary sources. Read our AI Editorial Policy.