Positive new results for Merck's Isentress in HIV-1 presented at CROI 2014

USA pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) subsidiary MSD says that in a 96-week, open-label AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) study designed to compare three different NNRTI-sparing HIV regimens in treatment-naive patients – one containing MSD’s twice-daily Isentress (raltegravir) and two containing different once-daily ritonavir (r)-boosted protease inhibitors, atazanavir and darunavir – all three regimens achieved high and equivalent levels of efficacy, as measured by time to virologic failure (VF), the study’s co-primary endpoint.

On the other co-primary endpoint of failure due to tolerability, the raltegravir and darunavir/r regimens were superior to the atazanavir/r regimen. In addition, on a key secondary endpoint of the combination of VF and tolerability failure (TF), the regimen with raltegravir was superior to both of the protease-inhibitor regimens. The results of this ACTG study were presented in an oral session today at the 21stConference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2014) in Boston, Massachusetts.

“Although all three arms of the study showed a high rate of success, the raltegravir arm was able to achieve statistically higher rates of success in the composite endpoint of time to first virological failure or tolerability failure. This was due to the high virological suppression coupled with an excellent safety profile associated with raltegravir,” said Mark Nelson, Physician, Chelsea and Westminster. “These study results reaffirm that Truvada [tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine] and raltegravir is an excellent treatment option for individuals commencing treatment for HIV-1,” Dr Nelson noted.