Gilead’s Quad HIV treatment meets goals in second phase III trial

Gilead Sciences has announced positive results from the second phase III clinical trial of its new combination HIV-1 therapy option Quad.

The treatment, which combines elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate into a single once-daily tablet, has been trialled in comparison to ritonavir-boosted atazanavir plus Truvada among treatment-naive patients.

It was shown that Quad was able to meet its primary endpoint of non-inferiority to the control regimen, in terms of the number of patients who were able to experience reductions to their viral loads.

Based on the data collated on Quad thus far, Gilead expects to be able to file for regulatory approval of the drug in the US by the end of the year.

Dr Norbert Bischofberger, executive vice-president of research and development and chief scientific officer at Gilead Sciences, said: "The 90 percent response rate observed on the Quad arm in this study is an unprecedented result and speaks to the potency, safety and convenience of an integrase-based single-tablet regimen."

This comes after data published last month showed the new therapy's non-inferiority when compared to Atripla in its first phase III trial.