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Nov 3 (Reuters) - A long-acting two-drug injection givenonce every eight weeks worked as well as three daily pills insuppressing HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to aclinical trial backed by Johnson & Johnson andGlaxoSmithKline.
Paul Stoffels, J&J's head of pharmaceuticals, said thefinding offered a potentially "transformational" way to fightHIV, if the result is confirmed in larger final-stage trials. Hebelieves the combination could be on the market by 2020.
The mix of J&J's rilpivirine and cabotegravir, from GSK'sHIV unit ViiV Healthcare, proved just as good as taking threedaily pills at maintaining minimal viral levels in HIV-infectedpatients when given either monthly or every two months.
Patients getting injections every month had viralsuppression of 94 percent after 32 weeks, while the suppressionrate was 95 percent for those receiving treatment every eightweeks. By comparison, patients on tablets had a suppression rateof 91 percent.
During a research and development update for investors inNew York on Tuesday, GSK said ViiV's cabotegravir was one of thehighlights of its new-drug pipeline.
GSK has a majority stake in ViiV, alongside minority holdersPfizer and Shionogi.
A late-stage study of a second combination, J&J'srilpivirine and ViiV's dolutegravir, has already begun. Thecompanies are planning to develop other combinations. (Reporting by Vidya L Nathan in Bengaluru and Ben Hirschler inLondon; Editing by Don Sebastian and Adrian Croft)
