GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) said its ViiV Healthcare joint venture with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) had reported positive results from a study of a once-a-month injectable two-drug regime for the treatment of HIV.
GSK said on Tuesday that the phase III FLAIR (First Long-Acting Injectable Regimen) trial was designed to study if adults infected with type-1 HIV, whose virus was suppressed after 20 weeks on the daily, taking oral medicine Triumeq, remained suppressed at a similar rate after switching to a monthly injectable regimen of cabotegravir and rilpivirine.
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The pharma group’s study showed the injections had similar efficacy to Triumeq at week 48.
"The data provide further evidence that a long-acting, injectable two-drug regime of cabotegravir and rilpivirine may offer an alternative to daily, oral therapy for people who have previously achieved viral suppression," ViiV’s chief scientific officer John C. Pottage said in a statement.
“This innovative dosing regimen could transform HIV therapy by reducing the number of days a person receives treatment from 365 to 12. Work on new methods of HIV treatment, including long-acting injectable therapies, supports our goal of making HIV a smaller part of the lives of people living with HIV,” he added.
Shares in Glaxo were 0.2% down at 1,528.40p in late afternoon trade.