Combo Therapy With DuPont Merck's Sustiva

DuPont Merck's investigational non-nucleoside reverse transcriptaseinhibitor Sustiva (efavirenz or DMP 266) has demonstrated significant viral load reduction in HIV-infected patients receiving combination therapy.

The Phase III trial involved 137 patients who received one of three Sustiva doses (200mg, 400mg or 600mg once daily) in combination with Glaxo Wellcome's Retrovir (zidovudine 300mg bid) and Epivir (lamivudine 150mg bid).

After 16 weeks, the 25 patients who completed the study in the high-dose group had a 1.89 log reduction in viral load, and 88% of these had HIV-RNA levels below 400 copies/mL. These patients also saw average CD4 cell count increases of 157 cells/mm3.