GSK announces results of two HIV drug trials

GlaxoSmithKline reported encouraging results from two trials of its HIV medication dolutegravir on Tuesday.

Results from the NEAT study of more than 400 patients with HIV and concluded that switching to a regimen based on its dolutegravir medication was non-inferior to continuing existing HIV treatment regimens based on boosting protease inhibitors, because it maintained viral suppression and improved overall lipid profile in patients.

Michael Aboud, a GSK vice president and global medical lead for Dolutegravir, said as simply having HIV is a risk factor for premature cardiovascular disease, "so it is important for people with HIV and other CVD risk factors to have effective treatment options that avoid adding to that risk".

He said the NEAT-ID group on this study showed switching to a dolutegravir-based regimen not only maintained viral suppression in a population with HIV and high risk for CVD, but also improved their overall lipid profile.

GSK also announced positive results from another trial of dolutegravir carried out by ViiV Healthcare, of which the majority is owned by GSK, which concluded that there were significant and clinically-relevant differences in favour of the HIV medication, dolutegravir and that the boosted lopinavir HIV treatment would be discontinued.

This was because no subjects in the dolutegravir arm of the study failed treatment with either the enzyme integrase or the compound nucleoside.

John C Pottage, the chief scientific and medical officer of ViiV Healthcare, commented: "the initial results from DAWNING are important because they not only provide information that may help guide second-line treatment decisions in resource-limited settings, but also reaffirm the position of dolutegravir at the core of HIV care"

"We are working with investigators to ensure that dolutegravir can be provided to patients in the control arm and are looking forward to sharing the 48-week results, as soon as they will be available".