GlaxoSmithKline unveils positive data from HIV drug study

ViiV Healthcare, a global specialist HIV company set up by GlaxoSmithKline in 2009, has announced positive 24-week data from its Phase III Sailing study, which has investigated the effects of its dolutegravir treatment, a type of integrase inhibitor, in patients with HIV-1 who are failing on current therapy, but had not been treated with an integrase inhibitor. At 24 weeks, 79% of study participants receiving the once-daily dolutegravir regimen were virologically suppressed, compared with 70% of participants on the twice-daily raltegravir regimen. The group said this difference in response was statistically significant, with a 95% confidence interval for the difference of 3.4% to 15.9%. "People living with HIV who have developed resistance to more than one antiretroviral drug class face increasingly narrow treatment options and clinical decisions become increasingly complex," John Pottage, the Managing Director of Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at ViiV Healthcare said."We welcome these initial results supporting the efficacy and tolerability of dolutegravir as a potentially useful addition in the management of HIV in treatment-experienced patients."These encouraging data were included as part of the comprehensive clinical data package supporting recent regulatory submissions for dolutegravir and we look forward to receiving the primary analysis at 48 weeks in due course."In the first minutes of trading on Thursday, the share price rose 0.68% to 1,483p.NR