After years of taking cabotegravir and Edurant orally daily, people with suppressed HIV switched to long-acting injectable Cabenuva.
People who took cabotegravir and Edurant (rilpivirine) orally daily for years and switched to the regimen's long-acting injectable equivalent, ViiV Healthcare's Cabenuva (cabotegravir/rilpivirine), with an undetectable viral load, still had a completely suppressed virus one year later in a recent trial.
The vast majority of these people reported that they preferred the injectable regimen, which was administered every two months and required a visit to the clinic.
The twelve-month findings from the phase IIb POLAR study were presented at the virtual IDWeek meeting.
The study included 97 people with a fully suppressed viral load who flipped after spending at least six years with a fully suppressed viral load thanks to daily oral cabotegravir and Edurant in the phase II LATTE trial .
In POLAR, participants were offered the opportunity to switch to injectable Cabenuva or daily oral Juluca (dolutegravir/rilpivirine).
Ninety (93%) of the participants chose to receive Cabenuva, while seven (7%) chose Juluca. One year later, all those who opted for Cabenuva had maintained a viral load below 200.
Cabenuva was generally well tolerated. Six percent (5 of 90) of participants who opted for the injectable regimen experienced serious adverse health events, one of which was considered treatment-related.
Seventy-eight percent (70 of 90) of those taking Cabenuva reported at least one injection site reaction. Of all the injections participants received during the first 12 months of POLAR, 30% (463 of 1534) resulted in a reported injection site reaction. All of these reactions were mild (84%) or moderate (16%). They lasted an average of three days.
Otherwise, the most common adverse health events were the common cold (experienced by 11%), upper respiratory tract infections (11%), diarrhea (10%), and fever (10%). Two participants (2%) experienced adverse health events that led them to withdraw from the study.
At 12 months, 88% of those who opted for Cabenuva preferred the injectable regimen to oral HIV treatment. The most commonly cited reasons for this preference were greater convenience (69%) and less frequent dosing (57%).
Cabenuva has been approved in Canada, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expressed concerns about the drug's manufacturing process. ViiV has reported that it is working with the FDA to address these concerns.
From: https://www.poz.com/article/people-prefer-injectable-cabenuva-switching-oral-meds