GSK's ViiV sees success in latest HIV treatment trial

GSK’s specialist HIV unit ViiV Healthcare, which it owns in partnership with Pfizer and Shionogi, unveiled promising findings from the ‘LATITUDE’ phase three trial of its long-acting injectable HIV treatment Cabenuva on Wednesday.

The trial compared Cabenuva, or cabotegravir plus rilpivirine, to daily oral therapy, with interim analysis showing Cabenuva's superiority in maintaining viral load suppression among individuals facing challenges with adherence to HIV treatment regimens.

It said the LATITUDE study, conducted across 31 sites in the US including Puerto Rico under the ‘Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally for HIV/AIDS and Other Infections’ (ACTG) network, aimed to address the complexities of HIV treatment adherence.

Participants with a history of adherence challenges and evidence of viremia were enrolled after ensuring their HIV strains were susceptible to study drugs and meeting safety criteria.

They initially received guideline-recommended oral ART to achieve viral suppression and were subsequently randomised to receive either long-acting injectable Cabenuva every four weeks or to continue daily oral therapy.

Following a planned interim review by the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) last week, the collective evidence from various study endpoints pointed towards the superior efficacy of long-acting ART over the standard daily oral regimen.

As a result, the DSMB recommended halting randomisation and offering all eligible participants the option to transition to long-acting injectable Cabenuva.

“The interim data indicating the superiority of long-acting therapy compared to daily oral therapy in individuals who have difficulty taking pills for HIV every day is a remarkable outcome,” said ViiV’s head of research and development Kimberly Smith.

“There are many reasons why people may find it challenging to stay on daily oral treatment and the LATITUDE study shows cabotegravir and rilpivirine injectable treatment can help them keep their virus suppressed, which benefits their overall health.

“Optimising therapy for all people living with HIV, including those with adherence challenges, is critical to the effort to end the HIV epidemic.”

At 0804 GMT, shares in GSK were down 1.01% at 1,662p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.