RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – ViiV Healthcare, which has a major presence in RTP, has secured European Union approval for its once-a-month treatment of HIV, offering an alternative to daily care.
ViiV is majority owned by GlaxoSmithKline.
The company also has secured approval for the treatment called Vocabria in Canada. It is seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.
HIV infects some 38 million people worldwide; in 2019 some 1.7 million were infected, according to UNAIDS.org.
ViiV’s treatment is designed for use with Janssen’s Rekambys (rilpivirine injection) and Edurant (rilpivirine tablets).
Treatment can be as little as six times a year.
“This authorization represents the first time people living with HIV in Europe may be able to receive a long-acting injectable treatment that removes the need to take daily oral tablets, following the oral initiation phase,” ViiV noted.
“We saw from the patient reported outcomes in our pivotal clinical trials that approximately 9 out of 10 people who switched to the long-acting regimen preferred this over their previous daily oral tablets,” said Deborah Waterhouse, CEO of ViiV, in a statement.
“It will potentially change the treatment experience for some people living with HIV by removing the need for daily HIV tablets. We are committed to pursuing innovative research to meet the diverse needs of the HIV community, and we won’t stop until we have more ways to treat, and hopefully one day cure, HIV.”
