Tobias Rinke de Wit
- Senior Fellow
- Professor of Sustainable Health, Department of Global Health, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam
- Director Research PharmAccess Group
- Director Research Joep Lange Institute
Professor Tobias F. Rinke de Wit (Ph.D.) is a molecular biologist and public health specialist. His research focus is primarily in the areas of (diagnosis of) infectious diseases in Africa, healthcare quality improvement, innovative healthcare financing, supported by mobile health technologies. He is currently the Director of Research of the PharmAccess Group and Joep Lange Institute (JLI). Tobias stimulates multi-disciplinary implementation and evaluation research along with the agenda of PharmAccess. He serves as chair of the WHO Global HIV Drug Resistance Network advocacy workgroup. Another focus of his work is on COVID-19 in Africa, in particular digital mobile rapid diagnostics and the effect of African immune activation status on COVID-19 symptomatology.
Tobias holds an Academic Chair at the University of Amsterdam and leads, at the Department of Global Health and Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD), a team of scientists, Ph.D. and Master students. At AIGHD he coordinates a large-scale HIV test & treatment program in Tanzania. In his position as Principal Investigator at the Department of Global Health of the Amsterdam University Medical Centre Tobias develops the so-called ‘connected diagnostics’ technology for improved quality and financing of healthcare delivery in Africa. He published over 225 articles in peer-reviewed journals and is serving in the Boards of MondialDx and HealthInc Amsterdam.
HIV-1 drug resistance in antiretroviral-naive individuals in sub-Saharan Africa after rollout of antiretroviral therapy: a multicentre observational study.
Hamers RL1, Wallis CL, Kityo C, Siwale M, Mandaliya K, Conradie F, Botes ME, Wellington M, Osibogun A, Sigaloff KC, Nankya I, Schuurman R, Wit FW, Stevens WS, van Vugt M, de Wit TF; PharmAccess African Studies to Evaluate Resistance (PASER).
There are few data on the epidemiology of primary HIV-1 drug resistance after the roll-out of antiretroviral treatment (ART) in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to assess the prevalence of primary resistance in six African countries after ART roll-out and if wider use of ART in sub-Saharan Africa is associated with rising prevalence of drug resistance.
Pretreatment HIV drug resistance increases regimen switches in sub-Saharan Africa.
Boender TS1, Hoenderboom BM1, Sigaloff KC2, Hamers RL2, Wellington M3, Shamu T3, Siwale M4, Labib Maksimos EE5, Nankya I6, Kityo CM6, Adeyemo TA7, Akanmu AS7, Mandaliya K8, Botes ME9, Ondoa P1, Rinke de Wit TF1.
After the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Africa, increasing numbers of patients have pretreatment drug resistance.
Protease Inhibitor Resistance in the First 3 Years of Second-Line Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV-1 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Boender TS1, Hamers RL2, Ondoa P1, Wellington M3, Chimbetete C3, Siwale M4, Labib Maksimos EE5, Balinda SN6, Kityo CM6, Adeyemo TA7, Akanmu AS7, Mandaliya K8, Botes ME9, Stevens W10, Rinke de Wit TF1, Sigaloff KC2.
As antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs in sub-Saharan Africa mature, increasing numbers of persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection will experience treatment failure, and require second- or third-line ART. Data on second-line failure and development of protease inhibitor (PI) resistance in sub-Saharan Africa are scarce.
Second-line antiretroviral treatment successfully resuppresses drug-resistant HIV-1 after first-line failure: prospective cohort in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sigaloff KC1, Hamers RL, Wallis CL, Kityo C, Siwale M, Ive P, Botes ME, Mandaliya K, Wellington M, Osibogun A, Stevens WS, van Vugt M, Rinke de Wit TF; PharmAccess African Studies to Evaluate Resistance (PASER).
Little is known about the effect of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) resistance mutations present at time of regimen switch on the response to second-line antiretroviral therapy in Africa. In adults who switched to boosted protease inhibitor-based regimens after first-line failure, HIV-RNA and genotypic resistance testing was performed at switch and after 12 months. Factors associated with treatment failure were assessed using logistic regression. Of 243 participants, 53% were predicted to receive partially active second-line regimens due to drug resistance. The risk of treatment failure was, however, not increased in these participants. In this African cohort, boosted protease inhibitors successfully resuppressed drug-resistant HIV after first-line failure.
Unnecessary antiretroviral treatment switches and accumulation of HIV resistance mutations; two arguments for viral load monitoring in Africa.
Sigaloff KC1, Hamers RL, Wallis CL, Kityo C, Siwale M, Ive P, Botes ME, Mandaliya K, Wellington M, Osibogun A, Stevens WS, van Vugt M, de Wit TF; PharmAccess African Studies to Evaluate Resistance (PASER).
This study aimed to investigate the consequences of using clinicoimmunological criteria to detect antiretroviral treatment (ART) failure and guide regimen switches in HIV-infected adults in sub-Saharan Africa. Frequencies of unnecessary switches, patterns of HIV drug resistance, and risk factors for the accumulation of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI)-associated mutations were evaluated.