Boehringer Ingelheim starts international HIV/Aids study

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced the initiation of a comparative HIV/Aids trial which will compare the safety and efficacy of Viramune (nevirapine) with atazanavir/ritonavir.

Viramune is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, with patients receiving one or two daily doses, while atazanavir/ritonavir is a protease inhibitor administered once a day.

Enrolment has begun in the trial, with 561 HIV-positive patients who have not yet been treated with antiretrovirals receiving one of the therapies above with a background regimen of Truvada (emtricitabine) and tenofovir.

The primary endpoint of the atazanavir/ritonavir on a background of tenofovir and emtricitabine versus nevirapine (Arten) trial is virologic response in patients following treatment for 48 weeks.

Dr Andreas Barner, vice-chairman and head of development and medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: “Viramune has proven to be a good treatment choice for HIV-positive patients during more than one million patient years of experience and extensive clinical trials.”

He added that an aim of the study is to help both doctors and patients improve their understanding of the position of Viramune as a treatment option for patients with HIV, while forecasting the availability of trial results in 2009.

In January 2007, Boheringer Ingelheim reported the publication of data from the nevirapine/efavirenz/abacavir study showing the improvement of virologic suppression in three years in patients treated with Viramune compared to those receiving protease inhibitor-based regimens.