The Towards an HIV Cure initiative would like to thank the following organizations for their generous support in 2015

Transcription

1 IAS Towards an HIV Cure Initiative Annual Report 2015

2 The Towards an HIV Cure initiative would like to thank the following organizations for their generous support in 2015 Office of AIDS Research IAS Contacts Owen Ryan, Executive Director Anna Laura Ross, HIV Cure Science & Strategy Consultant Rosanne Lamplough, HIV Programmes Project Manager Produced by International AIDS Society (IAS) Avenue de France 23 CH-1202 Geneva Switzerland Copyright International AIDS Society (IAS) Photo disclaimer: The photographs used in this publication are for illustrative purposes only; they do not imply HIV status, or any particular attitudes, behaviours, or actions on the part of any person who appears in the photographs.

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY HIV cure research is now considered one of the top priorities in the field. With increasing levels of scientific interest and novel research strategies and collaborations towards an HIV cure, many members of the scientific community consider that a sustainable remission for HIV is feasible. In 2015, with the active collaboration of key stakeholders in the sector, the initiative has continued to provide leadership in shaping the HIV cure research agenda, facilitating concerted efforts to accelerate global scientific research, and advocating for increased investment in HIV cure research was a crucial year for the Towards an HIV cure initiative, with the convening of an International Scientific Working Group of multi-disciplinary leading researchers and community representatives to revise and update the Global Scientific Strategy: Towards an HIV Cure, that will be launched on the occasion of the next annual Towards an HIV Cure Symposium in July 2016, Durban, South Africa. The initiative continued to strengthen its advocacy for a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder dialogue in the research for an HIV cure via its other initiative working groups. The Working Group on Cost-Effectiveness and Public Health Impact authored a paper, published in Journal of Virus Eradication, and also joined forces with the Psychosocial Studies Group to co-author a second paper, published in Trends in Microbiology, urging for increased integration of social and behavioural sciences with the biomedical research. The Industry Collaboration Group reached a significant achievement in 2015 with the successful development of a common Material Transfer Agreement (cmta) to accelerate the HIV cure research agenda by simplifying the process for donation and transfer of antiretroviral drugs in preclinical research. The 2015 edition of the Towards an HIV Cure Symposium welcomed over 300 high-level participants to Vancouver, Canada. The symposium, co-chaired by Prof. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Prof. Steven Deeks and Prof. Sharon Lewin, once again delivered a thought-provoking and diverse programme with the latest research presented via abstract-driven sessions, roundtable discussions to debate on relevant topics and a networking and poster exhibition to share ideas among peers. The 2015 Symposium also welcomed over 45 scholarship recipients supported by the Towards an HIV Cure scholarship programme to attend both the Symposium and the IAS 2015 Conference. The Towards an HIV cure initiative was delighted to continue to support the next generation of talent, by awarding scholarships to promising young researchers in the field and community representatives globally. The annual resource tracking paper, developed in collaboration with the HIV vaccines and microbicides resource tracking working group and AVAC, was published in July 2015 and updated in September The paper represents a unique tool to monitor global investment and identify trends in HIV cure research, as well as advocate for further commitment to the field. Finally, recognizing the importance of grass-root action, the initiative engaged local communities in HIV cure through a stakeholder s engagement workshop in Vancouver, July 2015, to enhance mutual learning and advancement in HIV cure research. The workshop was organized in partnership with CANFAR, CIHR, CanCURE and CATIE. The 2015 annual report provides background information on the IAS Towards an HIV Cure initiative and the Stakeholder s Advisory Board, as well as an overview of the many ways in which the Towards an HIV Cure initiative has continued to promote research and lead academic exchange in International AIDS Society Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report 3

4 INTRODUCTION The HIV/AIDS pandemic represents the most important global health challenge in modern history. The tremendous advances in biomedical research, in particular effective antiretroviral therapy, provided the means to control the virus, dramatically improving the health, quality of life and life-expectancy of people living with HIV. Nevertheless, the immune system dysfunctions, chronic inflammation, drug toxicities and the immense operational and logistical challenges in delivering HIV testing, linkage, and retention services to all those around the globe who need them, highlight the urgency of identifying an effective means to control the virus in the absence of therapy. Moreover, the sheer economic costs of providing effective treatment to the 37 million people currently living with HIV is prohibitive and unsustainable. The search for a curative strategy for HIV is therefore a goal of paramount importance and the area is increasingly being defined as a key priority for the future of HIV research. HIV cure research has made remarkable advances over recent years, coming into its own not only as a scientific goal, but as an expanding multi-disciplinary field of inquiry. Encouraging results demonstrate that a cure or, more feasibly, a sustained HIV remission is possible in the absence of antiretroviral therapy, albeit so far in a very limited number of cases. The Towards an HIV Cure initiative, a programme of the International AIDS Society (IAS) provides leadership in facilitating more concerted efforts to accelerate global scientific research towards a cure for HIV and in advocating for increased investment in HIV cure research whilst ensuring that the broad international community is fairly represented and involved in this effort. Learn more at Prof. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Towards an HIV Cure initiative co-chair, interviewed by CNN during the IAS 2015 conference in Vancouver, Canada. International AIDS Society/Marcus Rose 4 Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report International AIDS Society

5 ABOUT THE TOWARDS AN HIV CURE INITIATIVE The IAS Towards an HIV Cure initiative was established in 2011 in response to the resurgence of optimism on the prospect for a cure for HIV, following a workshop on HIV Reservoirs co-hosted by the IAS in conjunction with AIDS MISSION AND GOALS: Facilitate scientific discussion, exchange and collaboration to promote and accelerate research towards a cure or remission for HIV Provide leadership in advocating for increased investment and resource optimization in HIV cure research Provide clear and accurate information and disseminate knowledge in the broader community In 2011, the IAS undertook to guide the development of a Global Scientific Strategy: Towards an HIV Cure, launched at the 2012 Towards an HIV Cure Symposium in Washington, D.C., immediately preceding the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012). The Global Scientific Strategy, published in Nature Reviews Immunology, has served as a key reference document in the HIV cure research field. In 2015, a second International Scientific Working Group initiated the process of developing an updated and revised strategy in light of the new scientific evidence and current research directions; the new Global Scientific Strategy will be launched in July The annual Towards an HIV Cure Symposium, attracting over 300 high-level participants worldwide, provides a unique and collegial setting for the presentation and discussion of the latest research on HIV cure across a variety of disciplines. The 2015 edition of the symposium was held in Vancouver, Canada in July 2015, in conjunction with the 8th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment & Prevention. To ensure young researchers and community representatives are included in the annual symposium, the Towards an HIV Cure scholarship programme supported 47 outstanding candidates in 2015 to attend both the Symposium and the IAS 2015 Conference. The IAS and the Towards an HIV Cure Stakeholder s Advisory Board promote HIV cure research through the organization of the highly regarded annual symposium and other scientific meetings, development of knowledge dissemination and information sharing platforms, and advocating for the benefits of an HIV cure with the support of topic-specific working groups and advocacy tools. The Towards an HIV Cure working groups facilitate multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder dialogue on relevant topics, including ethics, psychosocial studies, public health and cost-effectiveness, and public-private partnerships. International AIDS Society Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report 5

6 STAKEHOLDER S ADVISORY BOARD The mission of the Stakeholder s Advisory Board is to ensure that key partners, including major institutions, funders and advocates of HIV cure research are engaged and informed throughout the process. The Advisory Board provides strategic advice to the IAS and guides the initiative and the implementation of related activities. The Stakeholder s Advisory Board is co-chaired by Dr. Jack Whitescarver, United States, and Prof. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, France. MEMBERS OF THE IAS TOWARDS AN HIV CURE STAKEHOLDER S ADVISORY BOARD Françoise Barré-Sinoussi Advisory Board Co-Chair France Serawit Bruck Landais Sidaction France Nikos Dedes EATG & ITPC Global Jean-François Delfraissy ANRS France Carl Dieffenbach NIAID/NIH USA Robert Eisinger NIH-OAR USA Peter Godfrey-Faussett UNAIDS Switzerland Mark Harrington TAG USA Gottfried Hirnschall WHO Switzerland Rowena Johnston amfar USA Glaudina Loots Department of Science & Technology South Africa Paula Munderi MRC/UVRI Uganda Marc Ouellette CIHR Canada Subhasree Sai Raghavan SAATHII India Yiming Shao CDC China China Mitchell Warren AVAC USA Jack Whitescarver Advisory Board Co-Chair USA Chris Wilson The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation USA TBC NHMRC Australia Dr. Jack Whitescarver, Towards an HIV Cure initiative co-chair International AIDS Society/Steve Forrest 6 Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report International AIDS Society

7 2016 GLOBAL SCIENTIFIC STRATEGY: TOWARDS AN HIV CURE The IAS Towards an HIV Cure initiative coordinated a first Global Scientific Strategy: Towards an HIV Cure 1 which was launched at the 2012 Towards an HIV Cure Symposium, July In 2015 the initiative convened a large multi-disciplinary International Scientific Working Group with global representation to develop a revised and updated Global Scientific Strategy which will be launched at the occasion of the 2016 Towards an HIV Cure Symposium in Durban, South Africa in July The International Scientific Working Group completed the first draft of the 2016 Global Scientific Strategy: Towards an HIV Cure, including the current basic, translational and clinical research priorities in light of novel findings and finer understanding of HIV reservoirs and latency, but in particular expanding the scope of the scientific strategy to include other areas of research, including social sciences, ethics and research in resource-limited settings. In late 2015, the first draft document was disseminated broadly to the wider community for a peerconsultation process, to integrate feedback and comments from as many stakeholders as possible, with the aim of generating a truly global and representative strategy. The 2016 Global Scientific Strategy will ultimately serve as a common roadmap for researchers, donors and other stakeholders to drive funding and research to specifically address the gaps necessary to accelerate the search for a cure for HIV. The 2016 Global Scientific Strategy focuses specifically on six priority areas: Molecular biology of HIV latency and shock strategies; Viral reservoirs, immunology of HIV persistence and kill strategies; Models for HIV cure or sustainable remission; Gene/cell therapy; Novel biomarkers and technologies to analyse/quantify HIV reservoirs; Social sciences and health system research. INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC WORKING GROUP: STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Jintanat Ananworanich US Military HIV Research Program USA Françoise Barré-Sinoussi Towards an HIV Cure Advisory Board Co-Chair France Monsef Benkirane Institute of Human Genetics, CNRS France Steven Deeks University of California, San Francisco USA Sharon Lewin University of Melbourne Australia Anna Laura Ross International AIDS Society/ ANRS France Joseph Tucker UNC Project China USA Dr. Steven Deeks and Prof. Sharon Lewin, Towards an HIV Cure Symposium co-chairs International AIDS Society/ Marcus Rose & Steve Forrest 1 International, A.S.S.W.G.o.H.I.V.C., et al. Towards an HIV cure: a global scientific strategy. Nature reviews. Immunology 12, (2012) International AIDS Society Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report 7

8 2016 INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC WORKING GROUP MEMBERS Galit Alter The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard USA Judy Auerbach UCSF USA Brigitte Autran Université Pierre et Marie Curie France Dan Barouch The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard USA Georg Behrens Hannover Medical School Germany Paula Cannon University of Southern California USA Marina Cavazzana-Calvo Hôpital Necker France Zhiwei Chen The University of Hong Kong China Nicolas Chomont Université de Montréal Canada Eric Cohen IRCM/Université de Montréal Canada Giulio Maria Corbelli Anlaids/EATG Italy Daniel Douek Vaccine Research Centre, NIAID, NIH USA Serge Eholié Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Treichville Côte d Ivoire Nir Eyal Harvard University Program in Ethics and Health USA Sarah Fidler Imperial College London United Kingdom Laurindo Garcia The B-Change Group Philippines Victor Garcia-Martinez UNC at Chapel Hill USA Gail Henderson UNC at Chapel Hill USA Timothy Henrich Brigham & Women s Hospital USA Richard Jefferys TAG USA Adeeba Kamarulzaman University of Malaya Malaysia Hans-Peter Kiem Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center USA Daniel Kuritzkes Brigham & Women s Hospital USA Jeffrey Lifson Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., NCI at Frederick USA Ying-Ru Lo WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific Philippines David Margolis UNC at Chapel Hill USA Joseph (Mike) McCune UCSF USA John Mellors University of Pittsburgh USA Keymanthri Moodley CMEL, Stellenbosch University South Africa Monique Nijhuis University Medical Center Utrecht Netherlands Moses Supercharger Nsubuga Joint Clinical Research Centre Uganda Melanie Ott Gladstone Institutes/UCSF USA Sarah Palmer Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney Australia Andrew Phillips University College London United Kingdom Douglas Richman University of California, San Diego USA Asier Saez-Cirion Institut Pasteur France Matthew Sharp Matt V Sharp USA Janet Siliciano John Hopkins University School of Medicine USA Guido Silvestri Yerkes National Primate Research Centre, Emory University USA Jerome Singh Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine South Africa Bruno Spire Inserm France Jeffrey Taylor CARE Collaboratory Community Advisory Board USA Susana Valente Scripps Research Institute USA Jan van Lunzen ViiV Healthcare United Kingdom Rochelle Walensky Harvard Medical School USA Ira Wilson Brown University USA Jerome Zack David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA USA 8 Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report International AIDS Society

9 MULTI-DISCIPLINARY, MULTI- STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE The IAS Towards an HIV Cure working groups bring together leading scientists and community members to focus on topics pertinent to HIV cure research. WORKING GROUP ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS The group was established to respond to the need for a more in-depth consideration of cost-effectiveness in the HIV cure research agenda. In 2015, the working group authored a paper on the role of mathematical modeling and cost-effectiveness analysis in the HIV cure research agenda, published in Journal of Virus Eradication 1. PSYCHOSOCIAL STUDIES WORKING GROUP The group is developing a multi-country collaboration to assess the willingness of patients to participate in HIV cure-related strategies and the potential impact of an HIV cure from a social and behavioural sciences perspective. In 2015, the Working Group on Public Health and Cost-Effectiveness and the Psychosocial Studies Working Group joined forces to co-author a paper advocating for the importance of integrating social science with biomedical research for multi-disciplinary HIV cure research, published in Trends in Microbiology 2. INDUSTRY COLLABORATION GROUP The mission of the Industry Collaboration Group is to accelerate scientifically promising, ethical HIV cure research, with a particular emphasis on the role and responsibilities of industry and facilitating collaboration between the private and public sectors. In 2015 the Industry Collaboration Group developed a common Material Transfer Agreement (cmta) for combinational use of marketed compounds in anti-retroviral therapy. The cmta is an extremely significant step to accelerate HIV cure research by simplifying the process and saving considerable time for the donation and transfer of antiretroviral drugs for preclinical research. WHAT IS AN MTA? A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a contract that sets forth the terms and conditions under which tangible materials are transferred between two organizations (the provider and the recipient), to be used for research purposes by the recipient organization. The MTA outlines the rights of both parties with respect to the materials and any derivatives. The agreement [...] embodies a genuine international collaborative spirit of sharing and openness in the fight against HIV. Dominique Limet, CEO of ViiV Healthcare. TOWARDS AN HIV CURE WORKING GROUP MEETINGS IN 2015 Joint Psychosocial Studies Working Group and Working Group on Public Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness Meeting, 25 February 2015, Seattle, USA Industry Collaboration Group Meeting, 25 February 2015, Seattle, USA Industry Collaboration Group Meeting, 21 July 2015, Vancouver, Canada 1 International AIDS Society W.G.o.C-E. The HIV Cure Research Agenda: The Role of Mathematical Modelling and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. Journal of Virus Eradication (2015); 1: International AIDS Society (IAS) Towards an HIV Cure Initiative. Towards Multidisciplinary HIV-Cure Research: Integrating Social Science with Biomedical Research. Trends in Microbiology (2015). International AIDS Society Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report 9

10 2015 TOWARDS AN HIV CURE SYMPOSIUM The fourth annual Towards an HIV Cure Symposium, which took place in Vancouver, Canada on 18 & 19 July 2015, was particularly successful in building on the previous editions reputation. High-level recent unpublished results were presented, participation was high and importantly a wide range of stakeholders were present; the symposium welcomed over 300 senior, mid-career and junior scientists, clinical researchers, scientific journalists, research funding administrators and community representatives from around the world. Towards an HIV Cure Symposium Chairs: Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, France Steven Deeks, University of California, San Francisco, United States Sharon Lewin, The Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia The two-day meeting endeavors to develop knowledge on the priorities that future research must address in order to accelerate research on viral reservoirs and to tackle HIV persistence in patients on ART as the way towards achieving a cure or remission for HIV infection, whilst also promoting increased investments in HIV/AIDS cure research. The symposium is also designed to provide an opportunity for those interested and involved in HIV cure research to share ideas, debate and network among their peers, and to provide a platform for information sharing between scientists, clinicians, funders and members of civil society. The symposium programme, developed by the 2015 Programme Committee, presented new scientific evidence and offered opportunities for strategy building and structured dialogue. The programme was structured around an opening session which included both a keynote speaker from academia and a presentation delivered by a community representative, four oral abstract driven sessions, three roundtable discussions, a poster exhibition and networking session, a closing keynote presentation by a non-hiv expert and an award ceremony. KEY FIGURES Participants: 334 Invited Speakers: 22 Oral Abstracts: 20 Poster Presentations: 74 Scholarship Recipients: 47 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME The Towards an HIV Cure scholarship programme ensured that both the annual symposium and IAS 2015 were accessible to people from resource-limited settings, young scientists, basic researchers and community representatives. In 2015, the scholarship programme supported 47 outstanding candidates to travel to Canada for the meetings. Towards an HIV Cure 2015 Scholarship Recipients International AIDS Society/ Marcus Rose 10 Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report International AIDS Society

11 BREAKDOWN OF SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED, BY GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 4 % Latin America 13 % Asia & the Pacific Islands 21 % Europe 23 % Africa 38 % USA & Canada IAS-ANRS HIV CURE PRIZE The IAS-ANRS HIV Cure Young Investigator Award is presented each year at the Towards an HIV Cure Symposium. The US$2,000 IAS/ANRS Young Investigator Award supports young researchers who demonstrate innovation, originality, rationale and quality in the field of HIV/AIDS research. The 2015 Prize was awarded during the closing session on 19 July to Christopher Peterson, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, United States for his work on gene editing in a non-human primate model of HIV/ AIDS IAS-ANRS HIV Cure Young Investigator Award presented at the 2015 Towards an HIV Cure Symposium. From left to right: Dr. Chris Beyrer, Dr. Christopher Peterson, and Prof. Jean-François Delfraissy International AIDS Society/Steve Forrest PROGRAMME COMMITTEE Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (Chair) Inserm and Institut Pasteur France Steven Deeks (Chair) University of California, San Francisco USA Sharon Lewin (Chair) Doherty Institute, The University of Melbourne Australia Jintanat Ananworanich US Military HIV Research Program USA Paula Cannon University of Southern California USA Nicolas Chomont University of Montreal Canada Daniel Douek Vaccine Research Center, NIAID/NIH USA Romas Geleziunas Gilead Sciences Inc. USA Richard Koup Vaccine Research Center, NIAID/NIH USA Daniel Kuritzkes Brigham & Women s Hospital, Harvard Medical School USA John Mellors University of Pittsburgh USA Keymanthri Moodley CMEL, Stellenbosch University South Africa Vicente Planelles University of Utah USA Peter Reiss Academic Medical Center Netherlands Bruno Spire Inserm France International AIDS Society Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report 11

12 Mr. Matthew Sharp and Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes deliver presentations in the dual community/ academic opening session International AIDS Society/Marcus Rose Roundtable panelists: Combination Therapy Trials International AIDS Society/Marcus Rose Delegates networking with Prof. Françoise Barré- Sinoussi, Towards an HIV Cure initiative co-chair International AIDS Society/Marcus Rose Ms. Talia Mota, oral abstract presenter and scholarship recipient International AIDS Society/ Marcus Rose Poster Exhibition and Networking Session International AIDS Society/ Marcus Rose 12 Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report International AIDS Society

13 INVITED SPEAKERS The Programme Committee selected a number of invited speakers to present at the symposium in the opening and closing sessions, the abstract driven sessions and the roundtable discussions. Opening Keynote Daniel Kuritzkes, Brigham & Women s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA Progress and Challenges in HIV Cure Research Opening Community Matthew Sharp, Long-Term Survivor, HIV Education and Advocacy Consultant, USA Community Involvement in HIV Cure-Related Research: Not Just Guinea Pigs Closing Lecture Stephen Locarnini, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Australia HBV Cure: Possible Lessons for HIV-AIDS Oral Abstract Sessions John Mascola, Vaccine Research Center, NIAID/NIH, USA HIV-1 Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies: Potential Role in HIV Treatment Approaches Marcus Altfeld, Heinrich-Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Germany Immune Recognition Following Latency Reversal James Riley, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, USA Engineering T Cells to Functionally Cure HIV-1 Infection Sarah Fidler, Imperial College London, United Kingdom CHERUB: Collaboration in HIV Eradication in the UK; Predictors of PTC and Viral Reactivation Strategies MEETING REPORT The Towards an HIV Cure initiative co-authored a peer-reviewed scientific meeting report to summarize some of the major findings discussed during the 2015 Towards an HIV Cure Symposium. The report was published in Journal of Virus Eradication. Networking Session International AIDS Society/ Marcus Rose International AIDS Society Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report 13

14 RESOURCE TRACKING In 2013, the IAS HIV Cure resource tracking group joined forces with the HIV Vaccines and Microbicides Resource Tracking Working Group (Working Group) to estimate global investments in HIV cure research. To date, this collaboration has yielded estimates for investment in 2012, 2013 and The Working Group estimates that in 2014, US$160.8 million was invested in cure research, representing a substantial increase of 55% over the US$104.7 million invested in 2013, and an increase of 82 % over the US$88.1 million invested in The majority of investments (US$142.8 million) came from the public sector with US$17.0 million invested by philanthropies such as Aides Fonds, amfar, the Campbell Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Sidaction and the Wellcome Trust. Despite outreach by the Working Group this year, industry did not reply to the survey, as such this estimate undercounts commercial investment in cure research. Several companies are known to have active cure research programs including Gilead, BMS, Janssen, Merck and Sangamo BioSciences, among others. In 2014, the United States through the US National Institutes of Health contributed the majority of public funding, with the European Union, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland and Canada also being significant contributors to HIV cure research. The successful implementation of the Global Scientific Strategy plan will require improved international scientific collaborative research teams and institutions at the international level to ensure an optimal use of resources. Recent initiatives include: INVESTMENTS IN HIV CURE RESEARCH BY COUNTRY, HIV Prevention Research & Development Funding Trends, : Investing in an evolving global health and development landscape In collaboration with: AVAC 14 Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report International AIDS Society

15 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT The IAS and the Towards an HIV Cure Stakeholder s Advisory Board organize and coordinate a number of events to create a fertile ground for information sharing and knowledge dissemination. The purpose of these events is to provide educational platforms and to encourage new collaborations and research projects in the field through information sharing. The International AIDS Society (IAS) Towards an HIV Cure initiative, together with our Canadian partners CANFAR, CIHR, CanCURE and CATIE, took the fortuitous opportunity on the occasion of the IAS 2015 Conference, July 2015, in Vancouver, to encourage community contribution from the diverse Canadian populations invested in HIV cure research. The Towards an HIV Cure: Canadian <-> Global Stakeholder s Engagement Workshop took place as a satellite session during IAS 2015 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, Canada. The workshop fostered interactions with global stakeholders to enhance mutual learning and advancement in HIV cure research, building on the parallel collaborations of Canadian scientists also conducted with their global counterparts in line with the scientific priorities outlined in the IAS 2012 Global Scientific Strategy: Towards an HIV Cure. The HIV epidemic in Canada is distributed among a highly diverse number of specific communities, offering a number of global analogies due to, among others, Canada s large immigrant population from HIV-endemic countries, diversity among Indigenous peoples, men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM), women in a variety of community settings, injecting drug users, transgender people, hemophiliacs, youth and paediatric populations. Canadian stakeholder responses historically show collaboration between government, academic and community representatives in all HIV research, which now also extends to HIV cure research. Researchers and communities are sensitive to the complex social, biological and health conditions that individuals and specific population groups experience in relation to HIV infection, including co-morbidities, marginalization, gender differences and health care settings. The Towards an HIV Cure: Canadian<-> Global Stakeholder s Engagement Workshop focused on two specific topics. The workshop created a fertile ground to share knowledge on engaging and generating advocacy for cure research with specific populations histories and approaches in mind, and also provided an opportunity for dialogue regarding the need for biomedical research to acknowledge complex individual health conditions and determinants. The discussions regarding specific population considerations will contribute towards the community input in the revision of the Global Scientific Strategy: Towards an HIV Cure which will be launched on the occasion of the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) in Durban, South Africa. Canadian and international experts joined to lead the meeting. In partnership with: CANFAR CIHR CanCURE CATIE International AIDS Society Towards an HIV Cure Initiative: 2015 Annual Report 15

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