Gilead Sciences reports positive data for new HIV drug

Gilead Sciences has published new clinical data showcasing the positive performance of its new HIV-1 therapy elvitegravir in a recent phase III study.

The integrase inhibitor was assessed in Study 145, a trial which compared the performance of elvitegravir to raltegravir over two years among treatment-experienced HIV patients.

It was found that elvitegravir was able to deliver non-inferior performance to the control drug after 96 weeks in terms of viral load levels, while safety and resistance profiles were also comparable.

Based on this data, the company intends to file for regulatory approval of the new drug in the US in the second quarter of 2012.

Dr Norbert Bischofberger, executive vice-president for research and development and chief scientific officer at Gilead Sciences, said: "These positive two-year data indicate that elvitegravir has the potential to be an important new once-daily treatment option for people living with HIV who have developed resistance to other therapies."

This comes after the company recently reported positive phase III trial data for Quad, a new combination HIV therapy that utilises elvitegravir in its formulation.