GSK plc (LON/NYSE: GSK) announced that ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK, with Pfizer and Shionogi as shareholders, welcomed a positive opinion by the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommending marketing authorisation for cabotegravir long-acting (LA) injectable and tablets for HIV prevention. Cabotegravir is recommended in combination with safer sex practices for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection in high-risk adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kg.
In Europe, strong progress has been made in the delivery of HIV treatment and prevention services, seeing a continuous decline in the incidence of new HIV cases. However, with approximately 100,000 new diagnoses each year, if approved, cabotegravir LA will be the only prevention option for people at risk of HIV acquisition that is administered as few as six times per year.5
Kimberly Smith, M.D., MPH, Head of Research & Development at ViiV Healthcare, said: “The expansion of prevention options is critical if we are to end the HIV epidemic. Long-acting options have the potential to play an important role in reducing challenges such as inconsistent adherence to taking daily pills, and stigma associated with oral PrEP use that can be faced by people who could benefit from PrEP. At ViiV Healthcare we are at the forefront of cutting-edge science, developing innovative solutions to address the biggest unmet needs in HIV prevention. With the CHMP positive opinion, we are hopeful that people in Europe will soon be able to benefit from greater choice”.
The positive opinion is supported by data from two international phase IIb/III multicentre, randomised, double-blind, active controlled studies, HPTN 083 and HPTN 084, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of cabotegravir LA for PrEP in HIV-negative men who have sex with men, transgender women, and cisgender women who were at increased risk of acquiring HIV. The studies demonstrated that cabotegravir LA for PrEP was superior to daily oral emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (FTC/TDF), with clinical trial participants given cabotegravir LA experiencing a 69% lower rate of HIV acquisition compared to FTC/TDF tablets in HPTN 083 (12 vs 39; annual incidence: 0.37% vs 1.22%; HR 0.31 [CI: 0.16, 0.58]) , and a 90% lower rate of HIV acquisition compared to FTC/TDF tablets in HPTN 084 (3 vs 36; annual incidence: 0.15% vs 1.85%; HR 0.10 [CI: 0.04, 0.27]).1,2,3,4
Cabotegravir LA for PrEP is currently approved for use in the US, Australia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, and Brazil as Apretude. Submission to other regulatory agencies is on-going.
ViiV Healthcare is a global specialist HIV company established in November 2009 by GSK and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) dedicated to delivering advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV and for people who are at risk of acquiring HIV. Shionogi became a ViiV shareholder in October 2012. The company’s aims are to take a deeper and broader interest in HIV and AIDS than any company has done before and take a new approach to deliver effective and innovative medicines for HIV treatment and prevention, as well as support communities affected by HIV.
