CROI 2006: Integrase Inhibitors Appear Surprisingly Strong in Treatment-Experi

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CROI 2006: Integrase Inhibitors Appear "Surprisingly Strong" in Treatment-Experienced Patients The prospects for development of new antiretroviral options for heavily treatment-experienced patients appeared to grow significantly brighter at CROI 2006, where studies on a pair of experimental integrase inhibitors showed strong activity in multidrug-resistant patients. A dose-ranging study of Merck's pipeline drug MK-0518, when taken along with an optimized background regimen in patients with resistance to all three major antiretroviral classes, found a viral load reduction to undetectable levels in up to 72% of treatment-experienced patients within 16 weeks. Meanwhile, a 10-day monotherapy trial involving Gilead Sciences, Inc.'s GS-9137 was conducted on 40 HIV-infected patients, half of whom were treatment experienced. Patients receiving GS-9137 experienced up to a 2 log decrease in viral load in the most effective dosing arm. Click HereBuzz over the positive integrase inhibitor findings quickly spread through the conference; for many researchers, the studies were the highlight of CROI, particularly when considered alongside positive results for another experimental drug, the maturation inhibitor PA-457. In an interview with The Body Pro, Roy Gulick, M.D., noted, "The good thing for treatment-experienced patients -- even people that have failed all the drugs we have today -- is that all these drugs with new mechanisms of action show activity in that group." Sax, M.D., summed up the buoyant mood: "We had a sense of a very rich pipeline in the past couple of years, but this year you're starting to see actual results in HIV-positive people, so that's why it's exciting."

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