ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK, with Pfizer Inc. and Shionogi Limited as shareholders, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Rukobia (fostemsavir), 600 mg extended-release tablets. Rukobia is a novel attachment inhibitor for the treatment of HIV-1 infection indicated for use in combination with other antiretroviral (ARV) therapies in heavily treatment-experienced (HTE) adults with multidrug-resistant HIV-1 infection, who are failing their current ARV regimen due to resistance, intolerance or safety considerations.
Significant advances over the past few decades have dramatically improved HIV treatment and for many, HIV is considered a manageable life-long condition. However, HTE adults – which account for approximately 6% of adults living with HIV who are on treatment – have little to no options left due to resistance, tolerability or safety considerations.1 HTE adults are at risk of progressing to AIDS and death and in great need of additional therapies.
Deborah Waterhouse, CEO of ViiV Healthcare, said: “There is a small group of heavily treatment-experienced adults living with HIV who are not able to maintain viral suppression with currently available medication and, without effective new options, are at great risk of progressing to AIDS. The approval of Rukobia is a culmination of incredibly complex research, development, and manufacturing efforts to ensure we leave no person living with HIV behind.”
The approval was supported by data from the phase III BRIGHTE study, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of Rukobia in combination with optimized background therapy (OBT) in HTE adults living with multidrug-resistant HIV, many of whom had advanced HIV disease at study entry. In the randomized cohort, 60% (n=163/272) of individuals who received Rukobia in addition to an investigator-selected OBT achieved undetectable HIV viral load and clinically meaningful improvements to CD4+ T-cell count through Week 96.
The proportion of participants who discontinued treatment with Rukobia due to an adverse event was 7% at Week 96 (randomized: 5% and nonrandomized: 12%). The most common adverse reactions (all grades) observed in ≥5% of randomized and nonrandomized participants were nausea, fatigue and diarrhea. The most common adverse events leading to discontinuation were related to infections (3%). Serious drug reactions occurred in 3% of people taking Rukobia and included three cases of severe immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome.2
Jacob P. Lalezari, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and Director of Quest Clinical Research, said: “As a novel HIV attachment inhibitor, fostemsavir targets the first step of the viral lifecycle offering a new mechanism of action to treat people living with HIV. In the BRIGHTE study, fostemsavir in combination with other ARVs effectively achieved and maintained long-term viral suppression and demonstrated clinically meaningful rise in CD4+ T-cell count even among heavily immunocompromised patients. These are exciting advances for the HTE population and an advancement the HIV community has long been waiting for. As an activist as well as researcher, I am very grateful to ViiV Healthcare for their commitment to heavily-treatment experienced people living with HIV.”
Rukobia was reviewed and approved under the FDA’s Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy Designations which are intended to facilitate and expedite the development and review of new drugs to address unmet medical need in the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition.
Gabriel Maldonado, Founder and CEO, TruEvolution, Inc., said: “Some members of the HIV community face very challenging treatment journeys and do not respond to available therapies for a variety of reasons. The approval of fostemsavir provides a sense of renewed hope for these adults who have few or no viable treatment options left and have been awaiting alternative medicines to control the virus.”
Fostemsavir is currently under review by the European Medicines Agency and additional submissions to regulatory authorities around the world are planned throughout 2020 and 2021.