Quad Pill Works as Well as Atazanavir Combo at 48 Weeks

The experimental Quad pill -- a once-daily single-tablet regimen containing the integrase inhibitor elvitegravir, the novel boosting agent cobicistat, and the NRTIs tenofovir and emtricitabine -- met a 48-week primary endpoint demonstrating non-inferiority to a boosted atazanavir regimen, Gilead Sciences announced this week. Both combinations suppressed HIV RNA in about 90% of treatment-naive HIV patients, but fewer people discontinued the Quad due to side effects.

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ICAAC 2011: Raltegravir is Effective and Well-tolerated in Diverse Populations with HIV

The HIV integrase inhibitor raltegravir (Isentress) works well for both men and women and people of diverse racial/ethnic groups, according to data from the REALMRK trial presented at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC 2011) this week in Chicago.

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ICAAC 2011: Cobicistat Matches Ritonavir as Booster, Studies Clarify Effects on Kidney Function

The experimental pharmacoenhancing agent cobicistat continues to work as well as ritonavir for boosting other antiretroviral drugs, according to findings published in the September 24, 2011, issue of AIDS.

In addition, 2 studies presented this week at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC 2011) shed further light on cobicistat's impact on the kidneys, indicating that it reduces estimated but not actual glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by altering activity in the proximal renal tubules.

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Darunavir/Ritonavir plus Raltegravir May Not Adequately Suppress High Viral Load

People with high baseline HIV viral load who used a NRTI-sparing regimen of ritonavir-boosted darunavir (Prezista) plus raltegravir (Isentress) had a higher than expected rate of virological failure and emergence of drug resistance mutations, according to research reported in the August 19, 2011, advance online edition of AIDS.

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