GSK proclaims efficacy of Trizivir in HIV patients

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has revealed new data concerning its antiviral combination therapy, Trizivir, in treating HIV patients who have never received antiretroviral treatment.

The company claims that the drug offers “comparable efficacy” to a regimen containing Combivir, another GSK antiretroviral product.

GSK’s claims are based on the results of a new study, entitled Action, in which treatment-naive patients with low viral load were observed 48 weeks, having taken either Trizivir or Combivir with another protease inhibitor, atazanavir.

The results found that 62 per cent of Trizivir patients achieved HIV viral loads of under 50 copies per mL, compared to 59 of those taking Combivir with atazanavir.

The most common adverse events observed with Trizivir use were nausea, neutropenia and fatigue.

It is the first FDA-approved drug that combines three nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors into one tablet, according to GSK.

Trizivir is also available in the UK in three forms: 150mg, 300mg and a film-coated 300mg form.

One of the active ingredients in Trivizir, abacavir sulphate, is marketed on its own by GSK as Ziagen.