UK drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC (LON:GSK) has stolen a march on its rivals after the US FDA approved a two-drug treatment for HIV made by GSK’s majority-controlled company ViiV Healthcare.
It is the first time the FDA has approved a two drug, single pill treatment, with sufferers generally having to take a cocktail of three or four drugs until now.
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The industry as a whole has been looking for simpler ways to control the virus, with the hopes that fewer drugs will lead to fewer side effects.
Juluca, as the treatment is known, is one pill made up of a combination of dolutegravir and rilpivirine and experts reckon it could shake up the US$22bn market in the coming years.
ViiV said the pill would allow HIV patients to reduce the number of antiretrovirals they needed to take while maintaining the same efficacy of the traditional three-drug regimen.
“This is the start of a new era in HIV treatment,” said ViiV chief executive Deborah Waterhouse said in a statement.
“We are delighted to be able to provide the first 2-drug regimen to physicians and people living with HIV in the US, to support the reduction of long-term ART exposure as they receive life-long treatment for their chronic condition.”
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The green light will come as a boost to GSK’s new boss Emma Walmsley, who reckons the drug is one of three that are “critical” in helping to fill a revenue gap left by declining sales of its lung drug Advair.
GSK isn’t alone in this space though. Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) is expected to be successful when it files its three drugs-in-one HIV pill for approval in the not too distant future.
GSK shares were broadly flat at £13.02 on Wednesday morning.