ViiV Healthcare Announces Cabenuva Versus Biktarvy HIV Treatment Data

Today, the global HIV specialist ViiV Healthcare highlighted the abstracts they will present at the upcoming Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2023).

The CROI 2023 conference will take place next week, from February 19-22, in Seattle, Washington. Contagion will be conducting on-site and remote coverage of CROI 2023.

One study to watch will be the first head-to-head study of the long-acting HIV treatment Cabenuva (cabotegravir, rilpivirine [CAB+RPV LA]) versus complete daily oral Biktarvy (bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide [BIC/FTC/TAF]).

“We believe long-acting is both the present and future of HIV, and providing an option beyond daily pills is why we chose to do a head-to-head study with a commonly prescribed, daily, oral medicine,” explained Kimberly Smith MD, MPH, head of Research and Development at ViiV.

Additionally, ViiV will present new data from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) trials 083 and 084 of cabotegravir as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Smith elaborated, “We will also be presenting data showing HIV incidence and prevention efficacy of cabotegravir long-acting for PrEP among Black men having sex with men and transgender women in the US, communities frequently underrepresented in clinical trials.”

The SOLAR study is the first, head-to-head, phase 3 study of CAB+RPV LA versus BIC/FTC/TAF. The noninferiority study assessed virologically suppressed adults who had been taking a daily regimen of oral Biktarvy and were randomly selected to either switch to Cabenuva or continue their current treatment.

In addition to sharing comparative efficacy and safety results, the investigators will present 12-month findings on patient satisfaction and treatment preference of the CAB+RPV LA versus BIC/FTC/TAF regimens. The trial results will also include an analysis of observed weight and metabolic changes after patients switched to Cabenuva versus continued with Biktarvy.

Findings from the HPTN 084 trial assess long-acting cabotegravir for less frequent HIV PrEP dosing in women. Specifically, the results to be shared at CROI 2023 will focus on participants with delayed injections during the study’s blinded phase. The findings will include analyses of safety, tolerability, and acceptability of long-acting PrEP in a substudy of adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa.

The HPTN 083 trial evaluates participants’ choice of long-acting cabotegravir for PrEP versus daily oral PrEP after study unblinding. Study patients include Black men and transgender women in the US.

Contagion will cover these and more trial findings at the Annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2023), held February 19-22 in Seattle, WA.