This article was written by Alfredo Tagarro, paediatrician at Hospital Infanta Sofía and clinical researcher at Instituto de Investigación 12 de Octubre, Spain; coordinator of the EPIICAL EARTH study, and co-lead of the Penta Respiratory Infections Working Group. It is taken from Penta’s 2024 Annual Social Report.
My collaboration with EPIICAL started in 2016, a real turning point for me as a researcher, thanks to my friend and Penta mentor, Pablo Rojo. It was an opportunity to delve into an area I’ve always been deeply passionate about – HIV – but going a step further: the pursuit of a cure. Joining EPIICAL felt like joining a group of brilliant and inspiring researchers, something like when a young rookie joins a football or basketball team full of great stars. What struck me most was their willingness to share their wisdom and their tolerance for the mistakes of a young researcher like me at that time.
EPIICAL, then and now, is absolutely vital for our research. The HIV pandemic continues to impact children around the world, and it’s our ethical and scientific duty to seek not just treatment, but a cure. EPIICAL has put the spotlight on some very important problems that persist in sub-Saharan Africa, such as the persistent high mortality rates despite early treatment and the complex factors contributing to this. It has also opened up new avenues in immunology, exploring the roles of NK cells and B cell subpopulations and providing significant insights into reservoir behaviour. For example, we are observing that children who start treatment early persistently reach an undetectable reservoir after 2 years of treatment.
The scientific findings of EPIICAL lay the groundwork for new research initiatives, such as targeted treatment for both therapy and cure using broadly neutralising antibodies, therapeutic vaccine, or other approaches. As is often the case in successful collaborations, what made EPIICAL special was the unwavering commitment of scientists, paediatricians, and other healthcare professionals to prioritise the vision of an HIV cure above all obstacles, and their willingness to work together towards this crucial goal for children’s health.