Ibalizumab Effective for Multidrug Resistant HIV

Bi-weekly ibalizumab therapy is an effective treatment for patients with multi-drug resistant HIV, according to research presented at IDWeek 2016.¹

Jacob Lalezari, MD, medical director for Quest Research in San Francisco, and colleagues conducted a study of the new biologic medication to determine its effectiveness in treating multi-drug resistant HIV.

“This is the first drug in a long time for patients with multidrug resistance,” said Dr Lalezari in an IDWeek press release. “This therapy showed good activity in patients who were resistant to everything else, which is very exciting for these vulnerable patients and those who care for them.”

Forty patients with multi-drug resistant HIV participated in the phase 3 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02475629), with 28% previously treated with 10 or more HIV medications. While all study participants were given ibalizumab, 25% required additional investigational medicine due to medication resistance.

After 7 days of treatment, 60% achieved a significant decrease in viral load (1.0 log₁₀ or greater); 83% achieved a decrease in viral load of 0.5 log₁₀. The average decrease after 7 days of treatment was 1.1 log10₁₀.

“Its not a huge population, but it’s a population that’s most vulnerable and most in need,” Dr Lalezari added in a press conference.

“This drug benefits a small but challenging population of HIV patients who are highly treatment experienced,” noted Daniel R. Kuritzkes, MD, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “This will not be a first- or second-line therapy for those who are infected with HIV, but it may be helpful for certain patients.”

Reference

1. New drug benefits patients with multi-drug resistant HIV [news release]. Published October 28, 2016. IDWeek 2016; October 26-30, 2016; New Orleans, LA