J&J, GSK Indicate Cabenuva Preference Over Gilead Rival

In order to make Cabenuva the conventional treatment choice for HIV, Johnson & Johnson and GSK-owned ViiV Healthcare need to first oust Gilead Sciences’ once-daily frontrunner, Biktarvy. The two companies now have a plethora of data that suggests their long-lasting injectable is well-liked by patients.

New findings from the phase 3b switching trial Solar indicated that an astounding 90% of patients who answered a ViiV survey favored Cabenuva to Biktarvy. Furthermore, 85% of these patients attributed their choice to the fact that they didn’t have to fret about taking their daily medication. 

When compared to the daily pill Biktarvy, the anti-HIV medication Cabenuva (cabotegravir/rilpivirine) is administered in the form of an injection and dosed once every month or every two months.

The Solar trial examined patients who transitioned from Biktarvy to Cabenuva over the course of a year. To be more specific, 447 patients switched to ViiV and J&J’s medication, while another 223 patients continued to use Gilead’s medicine. The researchers presented their findings at the meeting of the International AIDS Society, which took place on Monday in Brisbane, Australia.

At the beginning of the study, 47% of patients using Biktarvy indicated that they had difficulty remembering to take their medicine on a daily basis. They also mentioned the detrimental impact of having a constant reminder of their HIV status.

Aside from the convenience advantage that was noted in Solar, patients on Cabenuva also stated pleasure with the drug’s treatment adaptability, and they signaled a readiness to continue with ViiV and J&J’s medication after the trial period of 12 months had passed.

In addition, J&J and ViiV reported that the Cabenuva patients observed an increase in their level of comfort when it came to receiving injections throughout the research. And nearly 60% of individuals who were using Cabenuva stated that they favored the injections since they didn’t need to be concerned about other people seeing what they were taking.

The presentation that took place on Monday was Cabenuva’s second triumph in Solar this year. In February, ViiV and J&J released head-to-head data indicating that Cabenuva displayed antiviral effectiveness on par with that of Biktarvy following a year of treatment in individuals who had been virally suppressed on the Gilead medicine.

Last year, Cabenuva began to find its footing after receiving FDA clearance in 2021. In 2022, the drug generated 340 million pounds, which was a considerable rise from the 38 million pounds it earned the year before.

When GSK disclosed those findings, the firm stated that 60% of patients on Cabenuva were moving from medications offered by rivals, while another 40% were switching from a ViiV product.

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