DuPont Merck Presents Positive Data On HIV Drug Sustiva
June 29, 1998 10:32 AM
By Otesa Middleton
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--DuPont Merck
Pharmaceutical Co. announced a drug combination
containing its new HIV treatment Sustiva did better at
suppressing levels of the virus when compared with
standard care using a protease inhibitor.
The company presented the data Monday at the 12th
World AIDS Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
Sustiva was tested in combination with Glaxo Wellcome
PLC's (GLX) AZT drug Retrovir and its 3TC drug
Epivir. Another group of patients received Retrovir,
Epivir and Merck & Co.'s (MRK) protease inhibitor
Crixivan. The ongoing 24-week trial tested 450 patients.
The study showed that 95% of patients receiving the
Sustiva combination showed reductions in HIV levels,
19% more than those taking the protease-inhibitor
combination.
"Typically, we have recommended that all highly active
antiretroviral therapy combinations include a protease
inhibitor," said Dr. Schlomo Staszewski, director of the
Outpatient Clinic for HIV-infected patients at Johann
Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfurt, Germany.
"However, the availability of a new initial HIV therapy
with Sustiva that does not include a protease inhibitor,
but achieves a higher level of efficacy, may provide us
with a promising new alternative for patients,"
Staszewski said in the company's release.
DuPont Merck submitted its new drug application for
Sustiva earlier this month. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration designated the once-a-day drug as a fast
track product, meaning the agency plans to make a
decision within six months.
DuPont & Co. (DD) announced last month that it will
buy Merck & Co's (MRK) 50% interest in their DuPont
Merck venture. The deal, expected to close July 1 will
make Sustiva, if approved, the first HIV drug of the new
DuPont Pharmaceuticals Co.
Since September, Sustiva has been available to more
than 7,000 patients on an expanded-access basis, which
allows the company to distribute the drug for free before
FDA approval.
Tuesday, additional studies are to be presented on
Sustiva.
-Otesa Middleton 202-862-6654
|
