Weekly Pill As Effective As Daily Treatment
A phase 3 clinical trial has found that a new weekly two-drug pill is as effective as standard daily three-drug treatments for HIV viral suppression. The study, funded by Gilead Sciences and Merck, involved over 600 participants across 12 countries.
Why it matters
This development could significantly improve treatment adherence and quality of life for HIV patients by reducing the frequency of medication required.
The findings suggest that the combination of the antiretroviral drugs islatravir and lenacapavir in a single weekly pill could offer a new treatment option for people with HIV who have the virus under control.
Researchers compared the two-drug weekly pill with Biktarvy (bictegravir-emtricitabine-tenofovir alafenamide), a widely used three-drug combination taken once daily.
After 48 weeks, no participants receiving the weekly pill had a viral load of 50 copies per milliliter or higher, the threshold for viral suppression. The results were published on July 29 in The New England Journal of Medicine .
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