Gilead's monopoly in HIV therapies to be toppled by Viiv's Triumeq; report

The recent US Food and Drug Administration and European Commission approval of HIV specialist ViiV Healthcare’s Triumeq (dolutegravir/abacavir/lamivudine) will mean an end for Gilead Bioscience’s (Nasdaq: GILD)monopoly on the market, according to consultancy firm GlobalData.

The once-daily single-tablet anti-HIV regimen is the first drug of its kind to demonstrate a superior clinical profile to US biotech major Gilead Sciences’ (Nasdaq: GILD) Atripla (efavirenz, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate). This is largely due to Triumeq’s improved tolerability. ViiV Healthcare is an HIV/AIDS joint venture majority owned by GlaxoSmithKline 9LSE: GSK).

Moritz Hermann, GlobalData analyst covering infectious diseases, said: “Besides having superior antiretroviral efficacy in treatment-naïve adults compared with Atripla, Triumeq will also benefit from being the first once-daily, single-tablet anti-HIV regimen that does not contain tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF). TDF, which is contained in all of Gilead’s single-tablet regimens, can induce significant bone toxicity and is not suitable for use in patients with impaired kidney function. Therefore, Triumeq could expand into these patient populations with high unmet needs.”