ViiV builds case for long-acting HIV doublet

Gilead Sciences has maintained its dominant position in the HIV marketplace thanks to a new generation of safer triplet drugs but ViiV Healthcare revealed more Phase III results suggesting that a long-acting injectable doublet may be able to elbow out a seat at the table.

Detailed 48-week results from a pair of pivotal studies (ATLAS and FLAIR) presented at the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) confirmed that ViiV’s cabotegravir plus Johnson & Johnson’s rilpivirine formulated as a once-monthly injection is non-inferior to three-drug regimens on efficacy. More importantly, though, the data should be enough to rebut critical doubts about the doublet’s ability to prevent viral resistance, with similar rates of breakthrough being observed in each arm of the trials.

Susan Swindells, a professor of medicine in the infectious diseases section at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and principal investigator on ATLAS, told FirstWord that she could imagine up to one-quarter of HIV patients being interested in a long-acting injectable alternative to an everyday pill.

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