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Press Release:
10:00 CDT / 11:00 EDT
Wednesday, 24 July 2019
The press conference livestream is available here.
New drugs and more effective treatment regimens featured at IAS 2019
More choices emerge for people living with HIV
24 July 2019 (Mexico City, Mexico)- New evidence released today at the 10th IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2019) highlights important advancements in antiretroviral therapy, including new and more efficient regimens with the potential to change the treatment landscape.
“New drugs and novel treatment regimens have the potential to improve long-term tolerability and reduce costs and pill sizes,” IAS President and IAS 2019 International Scientific Chair Anton Pozniak said.
“We have new drugs with new mechanisms of action and important data from a trial looking at dolutegravir and TAF in resource-limited settings. We also have updates from key studies with more data to challenge the three-drug therapy and the daily dosing paradigms. Ultimately, the advances we are seeing in science are about giving people living with HIV more choices.”
Moving from three- to two-drug regimens
Two studies presented the safety and efficacy of dolutegravir (DTG) plus lamivudine (3TC) in two-drug therapy: for people starting treatment for the first time; and for people who switch after being virally suppressed on another regimen.
The first analysis reviewed two identically designed clinical trials involving 1,400 patients, known as GEMINI 1 and 2. These randomized, Phase III trials compared the safety and efficacy of DTG and 3TC in patients who were HIV naive with those taking the three-drug combination of DTG, tenofovir and emtricitabine.
The new analysis includes 96 weeks of data. It finds that the two-drug regimen remains non-inferior to the three-drug regimen over this two-year period.
Abstract: Durable efficacy of dolutegravir (DTG) plus lamivudine (3TC) in antiretroviral treatment-naïve adults with HIV-1 infection – 96-week results from the GEMINI studies
Session: Recent developments in antiretroviral therapy (Wednesday, 24 July, 11:00 – 12:30; Sala A)
The second study is known as TANGO. This randomized, Phase III trial examines the safety and efficacy of switching to DTG and 3TC in patients who were already virally suppressed with the three-drug combination of DTG, tenofovir and emtricitabine.
TANGO included 741 participants, randomized equally between the two- and three-drug regimens. It found that, after 24 weeks of therapy, the two-drug regimen was non-inferior in terms of achieving and maintaining viral suppression. While the study will continue through 148 weeks, this initial analysis suggests that switching to the two-drug regimen could indeed be an option for those on three drugs.
Abstract: Switching to DTG+3TC fixed dose combination (FDC) is non-inferior to continuing a TAF-based regimen (TBR) in maintaining virologic suppression through 24 weeks (TANGO Study)
Session: Recent developments in antiretroviral therapy (Wednesday, 24 July, 11:00 – 12:30; Sala A)
A new HIV treatment drug
IAS 2019 also featured promising data on MK-8591, the first drug in a new class of treatments known as nucleoside transcriptase translocation inhibitors (NRTTIs). The authors presented 48-week data from a Phase 2B, randomized trial in which MK-8591 was used as part of first-line therapy.
The study included 121 patients randomized to one of four study arms. In three of them, patients received different doses of MK-8591 together with 3TC plus doravirine, a new-generation non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, for at least the first 24 weeks. After 24 weeks, patients in these arms who were virally suppressed switched to a two-drug combination of MK-8591 and doravirine.
In the fourth arm, patients received doravirine, 3TC and tenofovir for all 48 weeks, along with a placebo pill. After 48 weeks of treatment, rates of viral suppression were similar in all study arms, ranging from 78% to 90% in patients receiving MK-8591, and 84% in those on the three-drug combination without MK-8591. There were also fewer treatment-related adverse events on all of the MK-8591 arms. This study provides another promising sign – not only of the benefits of a new treatment, but also of the potential for a two-drug regimen.
Abstract: MK-8591 at doses of 0.25 to 2.25 mg QD, in combination with doravirine, establishes and maintains viral suppression through 48 weeks in treatment-naïve adults with HIV-1 infection
Session: Recent developments in antiretroviral therapy (Wednesday, 24 July, 11:00 – 12:30; Sala A)
Every other day antiretroviral maintenance strategy
Another analysis focused on reducing the number of pills that a person living with HIV must take. Specifically, this open-label, randomized Phase III study compared the use of typical three-drug regimens taken four days per week with daily use.
The study, conducted in France by ANRS, included more than 600 participants randomized to the two approaches. They were taking a range of three-drug regimens, and all had been virally suppressed for more than 12 months. After 48 weeks of treatment, the four-days-per-week approach was found to be non-inferior to everyday treatment, in terms of maintaining viral suppression. These findings offer further evidence that newer HIV treatment drugs can be used in innovative ways.
Abstract: ANRS 170 QUATUOR 4/7 days maintenance strategy in antiretroviral treated adults with HIV-1 infection: an open randomised parallel non-inferiority phase III trial
Session: Recent developments in antiretroviral therapy (Wednesday, 24 July, 11:00 – 12:30; Sala A)
Comparing newer ARV regimens
Also released today, the ADVANCE study examined the use of newer ARVs in Africa, looking at two relatively new additions to antiretroviral therapy: DTG and a different form of tenofovir (TAF). Both of these treatments are recommended in many international treatment guidelines. In sub-Saharan Africa, however, clinical experience with them has been limited.
The study included more than 1,000 treatment-naïve patients, in a 96-week, open-label, randomized trial in South Africa. It compared three first-line treatment regimens: one involving TAF and DTG, along with emtricitabine; one with DTG, emtricitabine and tenofovir DF; and one with the widely used regimen of tenofovir DF, emtricitabine and efavirenz.
The researchers found that both TAF- and DTG-based regimens were non-inferior to the more widely used combination of tenofovir, emtricitabine and efavirenz.
Abstract: The ADVANCE trial: Phase 3, randomized comparison of TAF/FTC/DTG, TDF/FTC/DTG or TDF/FTC/EFV for first-line treatment of HIV-1 infection
Session: Recent developments in antiretroviral therapy (Wednesday, 24 July, 11:00 – 12:30; Sala A)
Note: Press summaries are based on abstracts; final data presented at the conference may change.
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The International AIDS Society (IAS) leads collective action on every front of the global HIV response through its membership base, scientific authority and convening power. Founded in 1988, the IAS is the world’s largest association of HIV professionals, with members in more than 170 countries. Working with its members, the IAS advocates and drives urgent action to reduce the impact of HIV. The IAS is also the steward of the world’s most prestigious HIV conferences: the International AIDS Conference, the IAS Conference on HIV Science, and the HIV Research for Prevention Conference. For more information, visit www.iasociety.org.
The IAS Conference on HIV Science is the world’s most influential meeting on HIV research and its applications. This biennial conference presents the most critical advances in basic, clinical and operational research that moves science into policy and practice. Through its open and inclusive programme development, the meeting sets the gold standard of HIV research featuring highly diverse and cutting-edge studies. The 10th IAS Conference on HIV Science – known as IAS 2019 – is taking place in Mexico City, Mexico, on 21-24 July 2019. For more information, visit www.ias2019.org.
Media contacts
Mandy Sugrue
IAS Communications Director
media@iasociety.org
Leila Darabi
Corkery Group Unlimited
leila.darabi@unlimitedgroup.com
Michael Kessler
Intoon Media
michael.kessler@intoon-media.com
+5215518001544
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