Glaxo’s monthly anti-HIV injection as effective as daily pill regimen
London — A long-acting injection developed by GlaxoSmithKline (Glaxo) and given once a month has proved as effective as standard daily pills for controlling the Aids virus, lifting prospects for the UK drug maker’s key HIV business. Glaxo’s majority-owned ViiV Healthcare unit said on Wednesday that the experimental two-drug injection of cabotegravir and rilpivirine maintained similar rates of viral suppression compared with a standard three-drug oral regimen, after 48 weeks of a clinical trial. The result from the big phase 3 study is a boost for Glaxo’s goal of developing dual therapies that are easier to tolerate than conventional triple ones, and shares in Glaxo rose 1.5%. It follows recent positive data from combining two oral drugs. Glaxo hopes its new approach will allow it to compete more effectively against Gilead Sciences, the US drug maker that dominates the $26bn-a-year HIV market. Shares in Gilead, which also announced late on Tuesday that its chief medical officer, Andr...
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