The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Monday approved ViiV Healthcare’s Dovato, two-drug, fixed-dose, complete regimen for HIV-infected adults who have never received treatment for HIV.
Dovato (dolutegravir and lamivudine), was approved as a complete regimen for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in adults with no antiretroviral treatment history and with no known or suspected substitutions associated with resistance to the individual components of Dovato.
“Currently, the standard of care for patients who have never been treated is a three-drug regimen. With this approval, patients who have never been treated have the option of taking a two-drug regimen in a single tablet while eliminating additional toxicity and potential drug interactions from a third drug,” said Debra Birnkrant, M.D., Director of the Division of Antiviral Products. “Having a drug-sparing treatment available that uses fewer drugs is beneficial to patients who may have issues taking multiple medications over a long period of time.”
The efficacy and safety of Dovato, one tablet taken daily, were demonstrated in two identical, randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trials in 1,433 HIV-infected adults with no prior antiretroviral treatment history. The trials showed that a drug regimen containing dolutegravir and lamivudine had a similar effect of reducing the amount of HIV in the blood compared to another drug regimen, which included dolutegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir.