Historic Aussie-first breakthrough in fight against condition impacting 40 million
In a groundbreaking leap forward in the global fight against HIV, researchers at Melbourne's world-renowned Doherty Institute have developed a revolutionary method that could one day pave the way for a cure, using the same mRNA technology that powered COVID-19 vaccines.
This discovery gives fresh hope to the nearly 40 million people around the world living with HIV. While today's treatments can keep the virus under control, they can't remove it completely. That's because HIV hides in a type of white blood cell, staying asleep and undetectable. But if treatment stops, the virus can wake up and spread again.
For decades, this hidden "reservoir" has been one of the biggest obstacles to finding a cure.
Now, researchers believe they've found a way to reach these sleeping cells and wake the virus up in a safe and controlled way, while the patient is still on their usual medication.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Dr Michael Roche, a Senior Research Fellow at the Doherty Institute, explained how his team used mRNA wrapped inside tiny fat-like bubbles called lipid nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are designed to travel directly to infected cells. Once inside, the mRNA sends instructions to the cell to make a protein called Tat — a natural HIV protein that tells the virus it's time to wake up.
"Tat is a protein that helps the virus 'wake up' when the virus wants to," Dr Roche said. "Here we are using Tat to wake the virus up when we want to."
This process is often called the "shock and kill" strategy. The idea is to force the virus out of hiding while the patient is still on HIV medication, so the virus can't spread and can instead be targeted and destroyed by the immune system or future therapies.
The discovery is still in early stages, but it's the first time mRNA has successfully reached and activated the HIV reservoir in a lab setting. The team's next step is to test the treatment in animal models to check if it's safe and if it works.
"We are looking for two signals," Dr Roche said. "Firstly, safety. Secondly, efficacy — whether it can wake up dormant HIV in animals."
These trials will take a few years. Only after passing those tests can human trials begin — first to ensure the treatment is safe, and then to test how well it works in people.
A key advantage is that this therapy uses the same technology that powered the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. "Our therapeutic is based on the same technology — mRNA and lipid nanoparticles — used in the COVID vaccines," Dr Roche said. "The global rollout of these vaccines has shown that this approach can be scaled and distributed globally."
He pointed to a new BioNTech mRNA facility in Rwanda, which is being set up to support production in areas with a high burden of HIV. The team is also focused on making sure the treatment, if successful, can be made affordable and accessible. "We are committed to ensuring any cures we develop are scalable, accessible and affordable," Dr Roche said.
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In Australia, around 29,000 people are living with HIV. New infections have dropped over the past decade thanks to wider access to HIV prevention medication (PrEP), regular testing, and strong treatment programs.
The country recorded its lowest number of new HIV cases in over 20 years in 2022. But some challenges remain. In 2023, there was a slight increase in new cases, mostly among people born overseas and those infected through heterosexual contact. Still, the long-term trend is positive, and now, with this research, a cure no longer feels out of reach.
If successful, this approach could one day mean people living with HIV no longer need daily medication, and may even be able to live completely free of the virus. As the world watches closely, Australia's scientists are once again leading the charge.
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