Amrita Therapeutics (India)

BackgroundHIV continues to be a significant health concern across the world. Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) comprising of three-drug regimens has improved clinical outcome but involves long-term toxicity concerns. Hence, to reduce drug exposure, interest in two-drug regimens has increased. This study evaluates the real-world efficacy and safety of a two-drug regimen that is a fixed-dose combination (FDC) of Dolutegravir 50mg and Lamivudine 300mg tablets in people living with HIV (PLHIV) in India.MethodsThe retrospective data included PLHIV aged ≥18 years, virally suppressed at baseline, and switched to DTG/3TC between November 2021 and April 2022. Patients were followed for 96 weeks, with routine clinical and laboratory assessments. Virological failure was defined as viral loads >1000 copies/mL, while safety assessments tracked adverse events (AEs), weight gain, and metabolic parameters.ResultsAmong 218 patients (mean age 48.08 ± 10.58 yrs), 97.8% achieved virological suppression at 96 weeks with sustained virological suppression at key time points (24, 48, 72, and 96 weeks). CD4 counts improved significantly (p = .002), specifically in females. Body weight increased moderately, with 16.28% experiencing ≥10% weight gain by 96 weeks. Minor statistically significant variations in cholesterol, triglycerides, and creatinine levels were observed. Nine patients discontinued DTG/3TC due to AEs, primarily weight gain and gastrointestinal issues.ConclusionThe study demonstrates that the DTG/3TC FDC is an effective, safe, and well-tolerated regimen for maintaining virological suppression in real-world settings, supporting its viable use as a switching strategy in reducing drug exposure and managing long-term toxicity.

A low power and wide bandwidth 6-bit active phase shifter using the half-quadrant control methodology is designed by using 28nm CMOS technology, for X, ku, and K band phased array applications. Half-Quadrant control approach is used to reduce the area and power. The proposed architecture controls the phase, with less variations in gain along with low insertion loss. This phase shifter is constructed using half-quadrant differential configuration mode, by which wide-bandwidth is achieved. The circuit is optimized for a wide bandwidth of 8-27 GHz with a low RMS phase error and gain errors of <1.43◦ and < 0.5 dB, respectively. The proposed active phase shifter consumes low power of 3.316 mW at 1V supply voltage.

Background and Objectives:We are reporting the performance of HPV self-sample collected by a novel kit in comparison with clinician collected cervical sample for HPV testing for cervical cancer screening. Methods: Consenting, eligible women aged 25 to 60, with a positive cervical cancer screening test report in the past one year but without any prior treatment for cervical abnormalities were enrolled in the study. Each woman provided 2 samples for the HPV test (vaginal self-sample collected with the CERVICHECKTM, an indigenous kit from India and cervical sample collected by the clinician). These samples were analysed using cobas HPV test on 4800 platform and for liquid-based cytology. Results:We enrolled 156 eligible, consenting participants at 2 study sites. The agreement for the sample collected by CERVICHECKTM and clinician collected sample for any high-risk HPV was 95.1% (k= 0.90, SE 0.036, 95% CI 0.83-0.97). The agreement for HPV 16 or 18 only was 95.1%, (k=0.88, SE 0.045, 95% CI 0.79-0.97). The overall acceptability of the kit was good, participants expressed that self-sampling was easy and > 90% women were willing to recommend it to their friends. Interpretation and Conclusions:There was almost perfect or perfect agreement between the HPV self-sample collected by CERVICHECKTM and clinician collected cervical sample. Self-sampling was highly acceptable to the participating women.

ObjectiveFemale sex workers (FSWs) are at an increased risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as well as human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and thus have an increased risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer. We evaluated the feasibility of “screen and treat approach” for cervical cancer prevention and the performance of different screening tests among FSWs.MethodsWomen were screened using cytology, VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid), and VILI (visual inspection with Lugol’s iodine) and underwent colposcopy, biopsy, and immediate treatment using cold coagulation, if indicated, at the same visit.ResultsWe screened 300 FSWs of whom 200 (66.67%) were HIV uninfected and 100 (33.34%) were HIV infected. The overall prevalence of CIN 2–3 lesions was 4.7%. But all women with CIN 2–3 lesions were HIV infected, and thus the prevalence of CIN 2–3 lesions in HIV-infected FSWs was 14/100 (14%, 95% confidence interval: 7.2–20.8). All of them screened positive by all three screening tests. Cold coagulation was well tolerated, with no appreciable side effects.ConclusionCervical cancer prevention by “screen and treat” approach using VIA, followed by ablative treatment, in this high-risk group of women is feasible and can be implemented through various targeted intervention programs.