ISENTRESS in Combination Therapy Demonstrated Long-Term Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability in Previously Untreated Adult Patients with HIV-1

Merck

announced Sunday final results from the STARTMRK study – the longest double-blind Phase III non-inferiority study evaluating an integrase inhibitor in treatment-naïve adults with HIV-1. In this pre-specified exploratory analysis of ISENTRESS 400 mg Film-coated Tablets in combination therapy in previously untreated (treatment-naïve) adult HIV-1 patients, virologic efficacy was better than the efavirenz-based regimen at 240 weeks. At all pre-specified time points, the regimen containing ISENTRESS had fewer drug-related adverse events versus the comparator. The 240-week analysis showed that the regimen containing ISENTRESS demonstrated long-term viral suppression and a greater immunologic response, as well as a proven safety and tolerability profile. These results were presented as a late-breaker at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C.