Aptivus gives durable response in HIV patients

German drug major Boehringer Igelheim says that new data from the combined RESIST-1 and RESIST-2 studies show that Aptivus (tipranavir), plus Norvir (ritonavir), provides a superior and durable treatment response for up to three years in treatment-experienced HIV patients versus a comparator group of protease inhibitors, according to data presented at the 11th European AIDS Conference, held in Madrid, Spain.

At 156 weeks, Aptivus plus ritonavir continues to outperform a group of ritonavir-boosted comparator protease inhibitors that includes low-dose ritonavir-boosted lopinavir, amprenavir, saquinavir and indinavir. When compared to these agents, through three years of therapy, treatment response rates were almost three times higher in the Aptivus/r arm compared to the comparator arm (20.9% vs 7.5%).

Moreover, those on Aptivus/r combined with first-time use of enfuvirtide achieved four-fold greater treatment response rates than patients with comparator protease inhibitors (37.9% vs 8.2%). In this group, the proportion of patients who achieved a viral load of less than 50 copies/mL at week 156 was more than twice as high with Aptivus/r as with comparator protease inhibitors (21.8% vs 9.3%), the German firm noted. "The new data show that for patients who achieve successful HIV suppression with tipranavir, the results are usually maintained over the long term. In a patient population for which treatment options are limited, this is an important achievement," said lead study author Charles Hicks.