Pragmatic Use of Long‑Acting Antiretrovirals in Africa is a Phase III parallel‑group, open‑label, multi‑country, multi‑centre randomised controlled trial evaluating a new once‑weekly oral long‑acting antiretroviral regimen to determine whether it maintains viral suppression as effectively as daily therapy. The trial is coordinated by the University of St Andrews, with support from the University of Liverpool and Università degli Studi di Torino, and is being conducted in Uganda, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Zimbabwe to compare this regimen with standard first‑line treatment in adults who are already virologically suppressed. Feasibility, safety, and cost‑effectiveness will also be assessed to inform potential integration of this regimen into routine HIV care.
Partners
• University of St Andrews, UK – Coordinator
• Infectious Diseases Institute Limited, Uganda – Sponsor and Scientific lead
• University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
• MOI University, Kenya
• Association PAC-CI, Ivory Coast
• University of Liverpool, UK
• Universita Degli Studi de Torino, Italy
Team
Aggrey S. Semeere, MB,ChB., M.Med (Int.Med), MAS, FCP (ECSA)
Dr. Semeere is an Internal Medicine Specialist who currently leads the Prevention, Care, and Treatment Program at the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. He has advanced training in Epidemiology and Implementation Science. He also oversees multiple high-impact research initiatives across Uganda and the broader East, Central, and Southern African region. In addition to addressing contemporary HIV prevention, care and treatment challenges, over the past 17 years he has also participated in development, testing, validation of affordable, scalable technologies for viral mediated high burden cancers in sub-Saharan Africa. His work is in partnership with global leaders in research in Uganda and regionally in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, and Botswana. Outside the region he also maintains collaborations with institutions that include Indiana University, Cornell University, the University of California San Francisco, the University of Arizona, and Harvard University among others. His clinical and reasearch leadership, is complimented by a commitment to capacity building, mentoring in Uganda and beyond.
Dr. Christine Sekaggya-Wiltshire
Dr. Christine Sekaggya-Wiltshire, the scientific lead for POA, is a physician in haematology at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala and Senior research Scientist at the Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University and honorary senior lecturer at St. Andrew’s University in the UK. Dr. Christine Sekaggya-Wiltshire has led and contributed to a wide range of research projects focused on HIV and tuberculosis (TB), with particular emphasis on improving treatment outcomes in co-infected populations. Her work has centred on pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenomics of anti-TB drugs (SAEFRIF trial and PANDORA study), including studies evaluating shortened TB treatment regimens (TRUNCATE TB), rifampicin dosing, drug–drug interactions with antiretroviral therapy, and individualized dosing strategies to optimize efficacy and reduce toxicity (SOUTH study, PHINX trial). She has served as Principal Investigator on multiple clinical and implementation studies, including trials on high-dose rifampicin, TB preventive therapy safety, and pharmacogenetic-guided treatment, as well as community-based projects aimed at improving TB diagnosis, case detection, and integration of TB and HIV services. In addition, she plays key roles in multinational trials in TB, diseases of public health concern (EPSILON-ACCEPT Africa), and cohort studies examining treatment response, biomarkers, health system approaches to integrated TB care (USAID COMMIT Africa).
Albert Kla Minga
As the operational project coordinator of IeDEA West Africa, I am in charge of the medical follow-up of individuals diagnosed for one of the screened infections located in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. My role is to establish direct relation with the Coordinating Centre (CC) located in Abidjan and ISPED, Bordeaux, France.
I have the expertise, leadership and motivation necessary to achieve this goal because of my broad background in Methodology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics and because in the past twelve years I worked as a medical epidemiologist at PACCI program which is a French and Ivoirian HIV research program. In this program, I initiated some of research projects, 2006 : ANRS 1220 Cohort of HIV-infected adults with estimated date of seroconversion, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 2012: Early Identification and Treatment of Early HIV Infection in Côte d’Ivoire (ANRS 12277 PRECO-CI). I participated in the phase III clinical research trial with CD4-guided structured antiretroviral treatment interruption strategy in HIV-infected adults in west Africa (Trivacan ANRS 1269 trial): a randomised trial completed in 2006; Early Antiretroviral Treatment and/or Early Isoniazid Prophylaxis Against Tuberculosis in HIV-infected Adults (ANRS 12136 TEMPRANO) completed in 2014; Non-comparative, phase IIb, unblinded trial, evaluating the efficacy and safety of Tenofovir-emtricitabine plus Zidovudine, Lopinavir/ritonavir, or raltegravir, among ARV-naïve HIV-2 infected adult patients, in West Africa (ANRS 12 294, FIT-2, First-Line Treatment for HIV-2), a randomised trial completed in 2018; Feasibility, tolerance and efficacy of interferon-free, antiviral treatment with sofosbuvir and ledipasvir for the treatment of genotype 1, 2 and 4 hepatitis C virus-infected patients in West and Central Africa (ANRS 12311 TAC, Treatment Africa Hepatitis C
Dr. Raoul D. Moh
Dr. Raoul D. Moh is a physician with a master’s degree and a doctorate in public health and epidemiology. He is a researcher at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, within the Dermatology and Infectious Diseases Teaching Unit. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the PAC-CI Program, a health research program, and of the international global health research platform (PRISME-CI).
His research and scientific interests focus on therapeutic strategies for people living with HIV, comorbidities (tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, prevention of cardiovascular diseases), aging, and operational research on health systems and capacity building.
He has coordinated several national and international clinical trials.
Stéphane N’GORAN
Stéphane N’GORAN is a healthcare professional with a Doctor of Medicine degree and a university certificate in epidemiological methods and practice. He has participated in several projects within the PAC-CI Program, including :
- IeDEA Sentinel Research Network (SRN) : a prospective cohort of patients living with HIV, as a clinical study physician
- DTG Resist : HIV-1 subtype-specific drug resistance in patients who have failed first-, second-, or third-line dolutegravir-based regimens : a multiregional study, as investigator
- REVIVE : a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of azithromycin prophylaxis in advanced HIV infection, as project manager
Amedeo De Nicolò
Amedeo De Nicolò is an expert professional in the field of clinical pharmacology, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacogenetics and drug-drug interactions, with a strong focus on antimicrobials, in particular antiviral drugs. He holds a master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology and a PhD in Medicine and Experimental Therapy.
During his research activity, he acquired strong experience in the development and validation of bioanalytical methods in liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS), which are currently considered the gold standard for PK analysis.
He is also associate editor at an indexed scientific journal of pharmacology, gaining experience in editorial policies and review processes.
He developed a strong attitude towards the education of younger scientists, teaching pharmacology in degree courses and as academic tutor at the PhD of Medicine and Experimental Therapy at the University of Turin and being scientific leader of technical courses of troubleshooting in LC-MS of the Italian Society of Clinical Biochemistry (SIBioC). Moreover, in the context of his academic activities, he is also part of the departmental commission for Public Engagement, organizing scientific communication meetings to the Public.
In the recent years, he set up a strong collaborative link with some African research institutions (eg. IDI, UCT), working at PK and capacity building work packages in EDCTP funded projects, constantly increasing his commitment to the training and technology transfer to the laboratories of the African partners.
Catriona Waitt
Catriona Waitt is a NIHR Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Global Health at the University of Liverpool, UK. Since 2015 she has been based in Uganda leading the Maternal and Infant Lactation pharmacoKinetics (MILK) group. Her vision is that everybody has access to the evidence-based information that they need to make an informed choice about medication use. To achieve this vision, she integrates clinical trials, pharmacokinetic modelling and community engagement and involvement. Alongside her research, she is on the leadership team for Pharmacometrics Africa and all her work has a strong capacity-building aspect
n public health and epidemiology. He is a researcher at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, within the Dermatology and Infectious Diseases Teaching Unit. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the PAC-CI Program, a health research program, and of the international global health research platform (PRISME-CI).
His research and scientific interests focus on therapeutic strategies for people living with HIV, comorbidities (tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, prevention of cardiovascular diseases), aging, and operational research on health systems and capacity building.
He has coordinated several national and international clinical trials.