ASHM Report Back
Clinical posts from members and guests of the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) from various international medical and scientific conferences on HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, and sexual health.
Dual Therapy & B/F/TAF
There was a flavor of dual therapy around Mondays Plenary. An interesting study for Australian audience was the ACTG A5353 study which is a pilot study of Dolutegravir + lamivudine for the initial treatment of HIV-1 infected individuals with viral loads of less than 500,000 copies/mL. The 24 weeks data was presented using the FDA snapshot definition. There were 120 participants with no baseline resistance identified. There were no discontinuations. This regimen demonstrated potent virilogical efficacy at 24 weeks. 3 patients met the criteria for a protocol defined virilogical failure (PDVF), one had emergent M184V.
The other interesting update was the 48 week data for Bictegravir(B)/F/TAF vs. ABC/DTG/3TC. This is a phase 3 RCT for treatment naïve adults. The primary endpoint HIV-1 RNA < 50 copies, powered for non-inferiority. B/F/TAF was non-inferior at 48 weeks. It was well tolerated and there were no adverse events leading to discontinuation. Nausea was significantly greater in patients taking ABC/DTG/3TC. Gastrointestinal, Neuropsychiatric and sleep related problems were also more common in the ABC/DTG/3TC patients. Changes in BMD and renal function were comparable. The speaker felt that B/F/TAF was an “attractive” option for rapid commencement of antiretroviral therapy as no HLA status is needed and it could likely be commenced irrespective of Hepatitis B status and renal function.