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Juluca

Generic name: dolutegravir and rilpivirine
Treatment for: HIV Infection

Update: Juluca (dolutegravir and rilpivirine) Now FDA Approved - November 21, 2017

EU and US Submissions for Single Tablet Combining Dolutegravir and Rilpivirine Priority Review Voucher Submitted in US with Anticipated Target Action Date of 6 Months

London, UK 01 June 2017 – GSK and ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority-owned by GSK, with Pfizer Inc. and Shionogi Limited as shareholders, today announced regulatory submissions to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a single-tablet, two-drug regimen of dolutegravir (Tivicay, ViiV Healthcare) and rilpivirine (Edurant, Janssen Sciences Ireland UC) for the maintenance treatment of HIV-1 infection.

The submissions are based on the SWORD studies that included more than one thousand patients who previously achieved viral suppression on a three- or four-drug (integrase inhibitor, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, or protease inhibitor-based) antiretroviral regimen. The results of these studies were presented at the 2017 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in February.

A recently acquired priority review voucher was submitted to the FDA along with the dolutegravir and rilpivirine 2-drug regimen New Drug Application (NDA). Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the anticipated target action date is six months after receipt of the application by the FDA. The $130 million cost of the voucher will be reported as an R&D expense in GSK’s Q2 2017 Adjusted results.

Use of dolutegravir and rilpivirine as a two-drug regimen for HIV-1 maintenance therapy is investigational and not approved anywhere in the world.

Deborah Waterhouse, CEO ViiV Healthcare said, “As people living with HIV plan their lives, there is a need for new options to best manage their lifelong treatment. At ViiV Healthcare, we are not only developing potential new medicines to treat and prevent HIV infection, we are challenging the traditional HIV treatment paradigm to develop new treatment regimens. We look forward to working with regulatory authorities to bring this new single tablet, two-drug regimen to appropriate people living with HIV.”

John C Pottage, Jr, MD, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, ViiV Healthcare, commented, “Traditionally, we have used a regimen of three or more drugs to maintain HIV viral suppression, but to best serve people living with HIV we must always question the status quo. We believed that dolutegravir would have the right profile to be a core agent in a two-drug regimen. Data from the SWORD studies supported our hypothesis that a two-drug regimen of dolutegravir and rilpivirine could maintain viral suppression and these regulatory submissions mark what may be a step change in HIV treatment. We are grateful to the study participants and clinicians who have contributed so much to making these submissions possible.”

In June 2014, ViiV Healthcare and Janssen Sciences, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, announced a partnership to investigate the potential of combining dolutegravir and rilpivirine in a single tablet in order to expand the treatment options available to people living with HIV.

About the SWORD Phase III Programme for Dolutegravir (Tivicay) and Rilpivirine (Edurant)

The phase III programme evaluates the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of switching to dolutegravir plus rilpivirine from current integrase inhibitor-, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-, or boosted protease inhibitor-based antiretroviral regimen in HIV-1-infected adults who are virologically suppressed with a three or four-drug regimen. SWORD-1 (NCT02429791) and SWORD-2 (NCT02422797) are replicate 148-week, randomised, open-label, non-inferiority studies to assess the antiviral activity and safety of a two-drug, daily oral regimen of dolutegravir plus rilpivirine compared with current antiretroviral therapy. In the clinical trials, dolutegravir and rilpivirine are provided as individual tablets.

The primary endpoint is the proportion of patients with plasma HIV-1 RNA <50 copies per millilitre (c/mL) at Week 48. Key secondary endpoints include evaluation of the development of viral resistance, measurements of safety and tolerability, and changes in renal, bone and cardiovascular biomarkers. The studies also include exploratory measures to assess change in health-related quality of life, willingness to switch and adherence to treatment regimens.

For more information on the trials please visit: www.clinicaltrials.gov

Tivicay is a registered trademark of the ViiV Healthcare group of companies

Edurant is a registered trademark of Janssen Sciences Ireland UC

Source: ViiV Healthcare

Posted: June 2017

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