GlaxoSmithKline’s ViiV Healthcare is launching a phase 3 clinical trial of a long-lasting injection that could prevent the HIV virus which leads to AIDS.
ViiV is majority owned by GSK, and some of its researchers work in the Triangle.
The new study is seeking to enroll 4,500 men who have sex with men and transgender women who have sex with men at sites in numerous locations across the Americas, Africa and Asia.
“Twenty years ago we couldn’t have imagined a future with so many effective medicines to treat HIV. However, there remains a need to provide more options for preventing HIV infection, such as long-acting regimens that don’t require daily dosing,” said John Pottage, Jr, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at ViiV Healthcare, in a statement.
” ViiV Healthcare is committed to studying new prevention options and through our public-private collaboration on this large phase III study, we will evaluate whether long-acting injectable cabotegravir could be an option in the pre-exposure prophylaxis setting.”
Another study focusing on women is scheduled to launch next year, GSK said in Tuesday’s announcement.
The trial features cabotegravir which GSK describes as “an investigational integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) for the treatment and prevention of HIV and is not approved by regulatory authorities anywhere in the world. Cabotegravir is currently being evaluated as a long-acting, nanosuspension formulation for intramuscular injection and also as a once-daily oral tablet for induction prior to long-acting injection.”
GSK also recently announced positive results of two late-stage trials for an HIV tablet therapy.
Read Tuesday’s announcement in full at:
http://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/2016/viiv-healthcare-announces-start-of-phase-iii-study-evaluating-long-acting-cabotegravir-for-hiv-prevention/
