26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) Opens Sunday July 26, 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Runs Through Friday July 31; Gilead Sciences to Present Twice-Yearly Lenacapavir (First-in-Class HIV Capsid Inhibitor) Long-Term Extension Data From the Phase 3 PURPOSE 1 Trial (Zero New HIV Infections Across 7,178 Person-Years of Follow-Up at Week 52) and the Phase 3 PURPOSE 2 Trial (One HIV Infection Across 5,295 Person-Years of Follow-Up), and Gilead-Merck Once-Weekly Oral Islatravir/Lenacapavir ISLEND-1 and ISLEND-2 Phase 3 Detailed Data Late-Breaker on Wednesday July 29
The 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) opens Sunday July 26, 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and runs through Friday July 31. Two peptide-adjacent HIV modality readouts anchor the industry program. Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) will present twice-yearly lenacapavir (first-in-class HIV capsid inhibitor) long-term open-label extension data from the Phase 3 PURPOSE 1 trial, where zero new HIV infections occurred among participants receiving lenacapavir across more than 7,178 person-years of follow-up at Week 52, and from PURPOSE 2, where one HIV infection occurred among participants continuing lenacapavir across 5,295 person-years of follow-up. Separately, Gilead and Merck's once-weekly oral single-tablet islatravir 2 mg / lenacapavir 300 mg (ISL/LEN) Phase 3 ISLEND-1 and ISLEND-2 detailed data is scheduled for the late-breaking session on Wednesday July 29. Topline released July 21 showed 0% of ISLEND-1 once-weekly ISL/LEN participants had HIV-1 RNA at 50 copies/mL or higher at Week 48 (versus 0.3% remaining on daily Biktarvy). Merck plans separate presentations across its daily, weekly, and monthly HIV treatment and prevention pipeline including alimatravir (MK-8527), the investigational once-monthly oral HIV prevention pill licensed Friday July 24 to Aspen Pharmacare and six other generic manufacturers for 129 low- and middle-income countries.