Background
Etravirine (ETR), an NNRTI approved for 200 mg BID dosing in conjunction with other antiretrovirals (ARVs), has pharmacokinetic properties which support once-daily dosing.
Methods
In this single arm, open-label study, 79 treatment-naïve HIV-infected adults were assigned to receive ETR 400 mg plus tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) 300/200mg once daily to assess antiviral activity, safety, and tolerability. Antiretroviral activity at 48 weeks was determined by proportion of subjects with HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL (intention-to-treat, missing = failure).
Results
Of 79 eligible subjects, 90% were men, 62% African-American and 29% Caucasian. At baseline, median (Q1, Q3) age was 29 years (23, 44) and HIV-1 RNA 4.52 log10 copies/mL (4.07, 5.04). Sixty-nine (87%) completed a week 48 visit and 61 (77%, 95% CI: 66 – 86%) achieved HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL at week 48. At time of virologic failure, genotypic resistance-associated mutations were detected in 3 participants, 2 with E138K (1 alone and 1 with additional mutations). Median (95% CI) CD4+ cell count increase was 163 (136, 203) cells/uL. Fifteen (19.0%) participants reported a new sign/symptom or lab abnormality ≥ Grade 3 and 3 participants (3.8 %) permanently discontinued ETR due to toxicity. Two participants had psychiatric symptoms of any grade. There were no deaths.
Conclusions
In this study of ARV-naïve HIV+ adults, once daily ETR with TDF/FTC had acceptable antiviral activity and was well-tolerated. Once daily ETR may be a plausible option as part of a combination ARV regimen for treatment-naïve individuals.