Bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide as initial treatment for HIV-1: five-year follow-up from two randomized trials
Paul E. Sax, José Ramón Arribas, Chloe Orkin, Adriano Lazzarin, Anton Pozniak, Edwin DeJesus, Franco Maggiolo, Hans‐Jürgen Stellbrink, Yazdan Yazdanpanah, Rima Acosta, Hailin Huang, Jason T. Hindman, Hal D. Martin, Jared M. Baeten, David A. Wohl
Abstract
Background Bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (B/F/TAF) is a single-tablet regimen recommended for HIV-1 treatment. The safety and efficacy of B/F/TAF as initial therapy was established in two Phase 3 studies: 1489 (vs dolutegravir [DTG]/abacavir/lamivudine) and 1490 (vs DTG + F/TAF). After 144 weeks of randomized follow-up, an open-label extension evaluated B/F/TAF to 240 weeks. Methods Of 634 participants randomized to B/F/TAF, 519 completed the double-blinded treatment, and 506/634 (80%) chose the 96-week open-label B/F/TAF extension, which was completed by 444/506 (88%) participants. Efficacy was based on the secondary outcome of the proportion of participants with HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL at Week 240 by missing = excluded and missing = failure methods. All 634 participants who were randomized to B/F/TAF and received at least one dose of B/F/TAF were included in efficacy and safety analyses. (Study 1489: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02607930; EudraCT 2015-004024-54. Study 1490: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02607956; EudraCT 2015-003988-10). Findings Of those with available virologic data, 98.6% (95% CI [97.0%–99.5%], 426/432) maintained HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL at Week 240 (missing = excluded); when missing virologic data were considered as failure, 67.2% (95% CI [63.4%–70.8%], 426/634) maintained HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL. Mean (SD) change in CD4+ count from baseline was +338 (236.2) cells/μL. No treatment-emergent resistance to B/F/TAF was detected. Adverse events led to drug discontinuation in 1.6% (n = 10/634) of participants (n = 5 with events considered drug-related). No discontinuations were due to renal adverse events. Median (IQR) total cholesterol increased 21 (1,42) mg/dL from baseline; the change in total cholesterol:HDL was 0.1 (−0.5,0.6) . Median (IQR) weight change from baseline was +6.1 kg (2.0, 11.7) at Week 240. In Study 1489, hip and spine bone mineral density mean percent changes from baseline were ≤0.6%. Interpretation Through 5 years of follow-up, B/F/TAF maintained high rates of virologic suppression with no treatment-emergent resistance and rare drug discontinuations due to adverse events. These results demonstrate the durability and safety of B/F/TAF in people with HIV. Funding Gilead Sciences.