Patient-Reported Outcomes After a Switch to a Single-Tablet Regimen of Rilpivirine, Emtricitabine, and Tenofovir DF in HIV-1-Positive, Virologically Suppressed Individuals: Additional Findings From a Randomized, Open-Label, 48-Week Trial.

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) can provide important information about treatment tolerability in HIV-1-infected patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate PROs following switching from a boosted protease inhibitor-based regimen to the single-tablet regimen (STR) of rilpivirine/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (RPV/FTC/TDF) in the 48-week open-label Switching Boosted PI to Rilpivirine in Combination with Truvada as a Single-Tablet Regimen (SPIRIT) trial. METHODS: In the open-label SPIRIT trial, patients were randomized to receive an STR of RPV/FTC/TDF (n = 317) for 48 weeks or stay on their baseline regimen of a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor and two nucleoside/nucleotide analog reverse transcriptase inhibitors (PI + RTV + 2NRTIs, n = 159) for 24 weeks before switching to RPV/FTC/TDF for another 24 weeks. PRO assessments included the HIV Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (TSQ) and the HIV Symptom Index Questionnaire (SIQ). RESULTS: At week 24, the mean HIV TSQ improvement from baseline was significantly greater in the RPV/FTC/TDF group than the PI + RTV + 2NRTIs group (p < 0.001). On the HIV SIQ, the percentage of patients reporting a shift from 'symptom' to 'no symptom' was significantly greater with RPV/FTC/TDF treatment compared with PI + RTV + 2NRTIs for all items (all p ≤ 0.01), with total within-group occurrence of 13/20 symptoms significantly decreasing from baseline for RPV/FTC/TDF patients. In the delayed switch group, significantly fewer patients reported diarrhea and sleep problems at week 48 vs. week 24. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that switching to the STR RPV/FTC/TDF from a PI-based multi-pill regimen is associated with greater patient-reported treatment satisfaction and improved tolerability in HIV-1-infected, virologically suppressed individuals.

Renal safety profile of STB in virologically suppressed subjects from two randomized phase 3b switch trials.

INTRODUCTION: Cobicistat, a component of stribild (STB), is known to inhibit renal creatinine secretion. A detailed analysis of the renal safety profile of STB in two Phase 3b switch studies of virologically-suppressed individuals on stable therapy: STRATEGY(S)-PI (STB vs a RTV-boosted protease inhibitor [PI] with emtricitabine and tenofovir DF [FTC/TDF]); and STRATEGY(S)-NNRTI (STB versus a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor [NNRTI] with FTC/TDF) is herein described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Baseline eGFR ≥70 mL/min was an inclusion criterion. The renal safety profile of STB was examined by baseline eGFR through week 48 (i.e., changes in eGFR, renal tubular laboratory abnormalities, investigator-reported renal adverse events leading to discontinuation and unreported subclinical proximal renal tubulopathy [PRT]). Subclinical PRT was defined as a confirmed serum-creatinine increase ≥0.4 mg/dL and two or three markers of renal tubular dysfunction (hypophosphatemia, normoglycemic glycosuria, proteinuria) occurring at the same visit at least once and with no alternative etiologies. RESULTS: In S-PI, 433 subjects (STB 293; PI 140) and in S-NNRTI, 434 subjects (STB 291; NNRTI 143) were randomized and treated. Most (>85%) STB subjects had a baseline eGFR ≥90 mL/min. STB subjects with baseline eGFR <90 mL/min had smaller declines in eGFR compared to those with baseline eGFR ≥90 mL/min and similar occurrences of renal tubular laboratory abnormalities (Table 1). Rate of renal adverse events leading to study drug discontinuation were similar for the STB group (one PRT in a subject with baseline tubular laboratory abnormalities consistent with underlying PRT and one isolated increase in serum creatinine) and PI group (one isolated decrease in eGFR); none in the NNRTI group. The case of PRT improved after study drug discontinuation. There were no cases of unreported subclinical PRT in any group. CONCLUSIONS: In this virologically suppressed patient population, the renal safety of STB did not differ by baseline eGFR. The renal discontinuation rate was low in the STB group, similar to the RTV-boosted PI group, and consistent with published historical rates.

Week 48 results from a randomized clinical trial of rilpivirine/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate vs. efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate in treatment-naive HIV-1-infected adults.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the safety and efficacy of the two single-tablet regimens (STRs), rilpivirine/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (RPV/FTC/TDF) and efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir DF (EFV/FTC/TDF), in HIV-1-infected, treatment-naive adults. DESIGN: This is a phase 3b, randomized, open-label, multicenter, international, 96-week study. METHODS: Participants were randomized 1:1 to receive either RPV/FTC/TDF or EFV/FTC/TDF. The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants with HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies/ml at week 48 by the Snapshot algorithm. RESULTS: A total of 786 participants were randomized. RPV/FTC/TDF was noninferior to EFV/FTC/TDF (85.8 vs. 81.6%) at week 48 for HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies/ml [difference 4.1%, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.1 to 9.2%]. A statistically significant difference in efficacy favoring RPV/FTC/TDF was demonstrated for participants with baseline HIV-1 RNA 100000  copies/ml or less [(n=510) 88.8% RPV/FTC/TDF vs. 81.6% EFV/FTC/TDF (difference 7.2%, 95% CI 1.1-13.4%)]. In participants with baseline HIV-1 RNA more than 100000 copies/ml (n=276), RPV/FTC/TDF demonstrated noninferior efficacy compared with EFV/FTC/TDF (79.9 vs. 81.7%, respectively, difference -1.8%, 95% CI -11.1 to 7.5%). In the RPV/FTC/TDF arm, more virologic failure was observed as baseline HIV-1 RNA levels increased. There were more participants with emergent resistance in the RPV/FTC/TDF arm than in the EFV/FTC/TDF arm (4 vs. 1%, respectively). There were fewer discontinuations because of adverse events with RPV/FTC/TDF (2.5%) than with EFV/FTC/TDF (8.7%). CONCLUSION: In treatment-naive participants, RPV/FTC/TDF demonstrated noninferior efficacy and improved tolerability compared with EFV/FTC/TDF, as well as a statistically significant difference in efficacy for participants with baseline HIV-1 RNA 100000  copies/ml or less at week 48.