Bob Leahy: Thank you for talking to PositiveLite.com, Julio. The last time we talked was in January 2012 I think. How have things shifted on the treatment as prevention scene in the last fifteen months. Are you starting to feel optimistic in terms of what you’d like to see?
Dr. Montaner: Well as you know I have been feeling quite strongly for quite a number of years now that treatment as prevention truly offers an opportunity to fully realize the potential of antiretroviral therapy, first and foremost at the individual level, secondarily to pay a huge dividend when it comes to preventing HIV, TB and a number of other diseases. For us the challenge was initially to get enough of a data base that the argument could be made compellingly enough so that every level of decision making, from policy makers to community, could rally behind it. In my mind the evidence, particularly when you weigh it against the challenge we are trying to address, was already overwhelming in 2006. Imagine how I feel now!
I think that since HPTN052 came on board that has allowed us to say this is definitive and conclusive evidence, and that we now need to move on to implementation discussions. And in the last eighteen months we have seen a huge political evolution, from Hilary Clinton to President Obama to (UNAIDS) Michel Sidibe progressively increasing the enthusiasm. To me, Michel Sidibe was incredibly valuable in 2010 when he formally endorsed getting to zero through treatment as prevention but I sense that his level of enthusiasm and eagerness today is exponentially greater, which is a great sign.