GSK says shot for HIV easier to take than pills

Company hopes many prefer newer drug’s convenience.

GSK, seeking to snatch market share from Gilead Sciences’ best-selling HIV pill, said its long-acting shot works just as well and lets patients replace the daily medicine with an injection once every two months.

Viiv Healthcare’s Cabenuva and Gilead’s Biktarvy were similarly effective at keeping the virus below a key threshold in a head-to-head trial involving 670 people. Among a group of patients who completed a survey as part of the study, 90% preferred the switch to Cabenuva, Viiv said Wednesday.

Viiv, which is majority-owned by GSK, is betting long-acting medicines are the future of HIV treatment because they allow patients to move away from exacting daily regimens and the stigma attached to the disease. The drugmaker is also looking to help buoy demand for Cabenuva as it prepares for the loss of a patent on one of its key HIV medicines, called dolutegravir.

“The main reason here driving the switch would be really down to the life impact that this incredible medicine has,” Deborah Waterhouse, chief executive officer of Viiv, said in an interview. “It’s a very stigmatized disease.”

Cabenuva, which first received U.S. regulatory approval in early 2021, generated £340 million ($412 million) in sales last year. That compares with $10.4 billion in revenue for Biktarvy, which hit the market in 2018.

Despite being older, Biktarvy is a formidable competitor whose sales surged about 20% last year. One holdup for Cabenuva is the need for enough medical clinics to be equipped to deliver the injections.

“This is one of the few medicines when patients come in, walk through the door and ask for it by name,” said Kimberly Smith, head of research and development at Viiv. “The doctor’s having to set up a clinic with the ability to do those injections every two months and that does take some modifications in their infrastructure.”

Viiv has expanded its network of care sites across the U.S. and is looking into whether pharmacists could administer Cabenuva, according to Waterhouse.

GSK has been a pioneer in HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, since the start of the AIDS epidemic more than 40 years ago.

In the 12-month study comparing Cabenuva with Biktarvy, a couple trial participants on the GSK regimen developed confirmed virologic failure, meaning that the therapy failed to keep their viral load below a key threshold, while none did on Biktarvy. More patients in the Cabenuva arm of the trial also withdrew due to more frequent side effects.

CHRIS RATCLIFFE/BLOOMBERG 2022 GSK is touting its drug for HIV that lets patients get a shot every two months, instead of taking a daily pill. Cabenuva received U.S. regulatory approval in 2021. Its competitor, Biktarvy, is older, and its sales were up 20 percent last year.