Latest news with #ViiV
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
ViiV's HIV shot preferred, as activists spotlight funding crisis at IAS 2025
ViiV Healthcare's combination injectable human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) medication was preferred over a daily tablet in treatment-naïve patients in a Phase IIIb trial. A global specialist in HIV that is majority owned by GSK, with Pfizer and Shionogi as shareholders, ViiV announced data from the Phase IIIb VOLITION study (NCT05917509) at the International AIDS Society (IAS) conference 2025, taking place from 13 to 15 July in Kigali, Rwanda. In the study, 89% of treatment-naïve HIV patients switched to Cabenuva (a combination treatment of cabotegravir and rilpivirine) following rapid viral suppression with daily Dovato (dolutegravir/lamivudine). Cabenuva is dosed once every two months by a healthcare professional. Patients were initially treated with daily Dovato until they achieved viral suppression. At this point, they were offered the opportunity to change to Cabenuva. The most common reasons cited for choosing Cabenuva were not having to worry about missing a dose each day (80%) and not having to carry medication (68%). ViiV CMO Jean van Wyk said: 'Long-acting injectables provide options that can offer high effectiveness and tolerability, improved adherence, and a preferred dosing schedule compared with daily oral pills. We believe they are a key part of HIV treatment and prevention and will play a critical role in achieving our ambition of ending HIV and AIDS.' Patients were initially treated with daily Dovato until they achieved viral suppression. At this point, they were offered the opportunity to change to Cabenuva. Effectiveness was also sustained with Cabenuva in the real world, with data from several observational studies. In these studies, Cabenuva was shown to address challenges associated with daily oral pills, offering improved treatment satisfaction, high effectiveness and a patient-preferred treatment option that supports long-term virologic control. It also provides better adherence to treatment, something which is a real issue with daily PrEP options due to stigma concerns. GlobalData, the parent company of Clinical Trials Arena, predicts sales of Cabenuva to reach $2.83bn in 2030. ViiV is also investigating an HIV therapy that can be dosed once every four months. In a Phase IIb trial, the therapy was able to suppress viral load below 50 copies per millimetre in blood. Long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV has been prominent on the agenda at the IAS 2025 meeting. MSD has initiated two Phase III studies of its monthly oral PrEP candidate, and Gilead is set to report more positive data from its two-Phase III studies of twice-yearly Yeztugo (lenacapavir). On 14 July, the World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed the use of Yeztugo, saying that without a vaccine, it is the 'next best thing'. GlobalData analysts highlighted that the approval of Yeztugo is a 'momentous step in improving PrEP options available for people vulnerable to contracting HIV'. The main topic of conversation at the IAS 2025 conference, however, is the loss of various funding schemes which helped to provide treatment and research into HIV. Funding cuts by Trump's administration are already impacting low-income and middle-income countries, with cases of HIV already rising just six months after the reductions were made. During IAS's opening session, a group of activists took to the stage to vocalise their anger at the loss of funding, as well as some companies removing their diversity policies that recognised patients from LGBTQ+ communities, many of whom are more susceptible to transmitting HIV. The activists chanted 'we will not be erased' as they took to the stage, with several members of the group sharing their views and experiences as HIV patients from the LGBTQ+ community. The conference states it is welcoming of protests and that it 'endorses freedom of speech as an essential principle to end the HIV pandemic as a threat to public health'. "ViiV's HIV shot preferred, as activists spotlight funding crisis at IAS 2025" was originally created and published by Clinical Trials Arena, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
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Business Standard
19 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Aurobindo Pharma to manufacture, supply long acting HIV treatment drug
The Hyderabad-based drugmaker has been selected as one of the generic manufacturers under the expanded voluntary licensing agreement between the Medicines Patent Pool and ViiV Healthcare Press Trust of India Aurobindo Pharma on Tuesday said it will manufacture and supply the long-acting injectable HIV treatment cabotegravir across 133 countries. The Hyderabad-based drugmaker has been selected as one of the generic manufacturers under the expanded voluntary licensing agreement between the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and ViiV Healthcare, the company said in a statement. The agreement allows Aurobindo to manufacture and supply the long-acting injectable HIV treatment across 133 countries, including several low and middle-income markets, it added. This update now includes long-acting cabotegravir (CAB LA) for HIV treatment, in addition to its earlier use for prevention only. The treatment offers an alternative to daily pills, allowing patients to receive just one injection every one or two months. "We are privileged to be part of the sub-license expansion from MPP and ViiV to develop, manufacture, and distribute generic CAB LA in select markets for the treatment of HIV-1, in addition to the voluntary licence for PrEP," Aurobindo Pharma Vice Chairman & Managing Director K Nithyananda Reddy said. This is a significant and timely step towards increasing access to advanced long-acting treatment in LMICs, he added. Aurobindo remains committed to leveraging its global supply capabilities to make this vital combination long-acting injection therapy widely available and affordable, he stated. The consideration by ViiV and MPP to include the private market in royalty-bearing countries is a critical step toward expanding access across both public and private sectors, it added. ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK, with Pfizer and Shionogi as shareholders, and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), have announced an update to their voluntary licensing agreement to include patents relating to its use in a long-acting regimen. The announcement follows updated guidance from the WHO recommending long-acting injectable cabotegravir + rilpivirine as an HIV treatment option. Existing generic licensees for prevention will be able to develop, manufacture and supply generic CAB LA, for use in combination with long-acting rilpivirine, subject to required regulatory approvals, to help enable access to the long-acting treatment in 133 countries worldwide. This includes all least-developed, low-income, lower middle-income, and Sub-Saharan African countries, as well as countries where ViiV does not have patent rights for cabotegravir.
