Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Reuters NewMedia - Friday February 14, 2003
The drug, being developed by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc, is a second-generation protease inhibitor known as 908.
Protease inhibitors, which are given as part of a broader drug cocktail, block HIV protease, an enzyme the virus needs to reproduce itself.
Final results from a pivotal-stage trial showed that after 48 weeks HIV could not be detected in 66 percent of patients on 908, compared with 51 percent of trial participants taking Viracept, a protease inhibitor from Pfizer Inc and Roche Holding AG .
The difference was most pronounced among those with advanced HIV, where 67 percent saw their viral load drop to undetectable levels, compared to 35 percent of patients taking Viracept.
The new drug from GSK and Vertex is currently awaiting approval from regulators in both U.S. and Europe, with the first launch expected in the second half of this year.
Protease inhibitors revolutionized treatment when they were first introduced in 1996 as part of triple-drug therapy that effectively turned HIV/AIDS into a manageable condition -- rather than a death sentence -- for thousands of patients.
But the drugs are difficult to use and can cause serious side effects, making the development of improved versions a priority for researchers.
GSK has rights to 908 in the United States, Europe and some Asian countries, while Vertex has options to commercialize the drug in Japan and to co-promote it in the United States and Europe.
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