GlaxoSmithKline PLC’s (LON:GSK) already fast-growing HIV drug business got another boost after two major clinical studies successfully tested a new two-drug treatment regimen to control the virus that causes AIDS.
Glaxo has developed the new two-drug cocktail through its majority-owned ViiV Healthcare joint venture, in which US firm Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Japan’s Shionogi & Company Ltd. also hold stakes.
The aim is to develop the new HIV treatment as a two-in-one tablet. The approach is a departure from conventional triple drug cocktails that can cause side effects, especially among older patients who make up a growing proportion of those treated for the disease.
Results of the two Phase III tablet studies, announced late on Monday, showed that the combination of Glaxo's dolutegravir and Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ) rilpivirine treatments worked as well as three-or-four-drug regimens.
Dominique Limet, ViiV’s chief executive, said: "These are important results for the HIV scientific community and represent an important milestone in our understanding of how HIV can be treated.
“The results support our strategy of investigating two-drug regimens as innovative treatment options for people living with HIV and we are planning regulatory submissions for this two-drug regimen as a single tablet in 2017."
ViiV said detailed results from the studies will be presented at an upcoming scientific meeting.