Six Promising HIV Drugs in the Pipeline

New Fixed-Dose Combination and Antiretroviral Formulations

Gulick pointed out three one-pill, once-a-day formulations being developed:

• GS-7340/FTC/elvitegravir/cobicistat.
• GS-7340/FTC/darunavir/cobicistat.
• Abacavir/lamivudine (3TC, Epivir)/dolutegravir.

In addition, three other in-development formulations that Gulick mentioned were:

• Lopinavir/ritonavir/lamivudine.
• Atazanavir (Reyataz)/cobicistat and darunavir/cobicistat (both in clinical trials).
• Rilpivirine long-acting (RPV-LA).

Regarding the last drug in those lists, a small pilot study presented at CROI 2012 found that RPV-LA could potentially be given once a month in its long-acting nano-formation. It would likely need to be paired with other drugs, but research is ongoing for its use in treatment and prevention.

Warren Tong is the research editor for TheBody.com and TheBodyPRO.com.

Follow Warren on Twitter: @WarrenAtTheBody.