Will HIV-positive patients take Dovato in the future?
According to POZ, the Food and Drug Administration approved ViiV Healthcare’s Dovato (dolutegravir/lamivudine) as a new all-in-one pill option for people with fully suppressed HIV. This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard of Dovato, however, as it was initially approved for new patients to HIV treatment in April of 2019.
Business Wire then reports that it’s thanks to findings from a TANGO trial that longstanding HIV-plus patients can now be approved for Dovato. The study followed 741 people with an undectable viral load for six months. Most of the study participants were men, a majority were white and the median age was 40. The trial found that people who switched from a multi-drug program to Dovato maintained an undectable viral load for a year.
“This expanded approval for Dovato is particularly important for my virologically suppressed patients living with HIV who are seeking a new option that can reduce the number of drugs they are exposed to each day,” Charlotte-Paige Rolle, MD, director of research operations at the Orlando Immunology Center, said in a ViiV press release.
“As HIV treatment and care progress, people living with HIV will be on medication for decades and need solutions to challenges that may arise from prolonged use of ARV therapy,” Lynn Baxter, Head of North America, ViiV Healthcare, added.
“At ViiV Healthcare, we’ve proven that with Dovato, adults living with HIV can reduce the number of ARVs they take every day without compromising efficacy or barrier to resistance. This remarkable, innovative approach challenges the notion that three or more drugs are needed to maintain virologic suppression, and today’s FDA approval brings this switch treatment option to virologically suppressed adults living with HIV.”
Source: POZ, HIV Plus Mag, Business Wire,
