PAC-CI/MODERATO Program: For the first time in Sub-Saharan Africa, a clinical trial has demonstrated the effectiveness of a dual-therapy strategy in patients infected with HIV and with a controlled viral load.

At the International AIDS Society, Dr. Fatoumata Fadiga, Project Manager at the PAC-CI Program, presented important final results of the MODERATO clinical trial on July 15, 2025.

As a reminder, the main objective of this clinical trial was to demonstrate, in participants who had achieved virological success with TDF+XTC+EFV or DTG+3TC+TDF for at least two years, the non-inferiority at 96 weeks of a strategy of switching to a maintenance dual therapy (based on DTG+3TC or ATV/r+3TC), compared to the strategy of continuing the WHO reference triple therapy with TDF+3TC+EFV or DTG+3TC+TDF.

For the first time in sub-Saharan Africa, a clinical trial has demonstrated the effectiveness of the dual therapy strategy in HIV-infected patients with virological control. This supports the WHO recommendations released the day before, on July 14, 2025, on this type of strategies.

The principal investigators of the MODERATO clinical trial were Prof. Serge Eholié and Dr. Roland Landman, and it was coordinated by Dr. Raoul Moh and Aida Benalycherif.

A big thank you to the participants from the 3 countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon. To the sponsor ANRS-MIE, to VIATRIS. To the co-investigators: Prof. Charles Kouanfack, Prof. Joseph Drabo, Prof. Ismaël Diallo, Prof. Armel Poda, Dr. Zelica Diallo, Dr. Gustave N’zunetu, Dr. Eugène Messou, Dr. Amani Anzian, and to all the IT, monitoring, and laboratory teams.