tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine/efavirenz versus combivir/efavirenz in antiretroviral-naive hiv-1 infected subjects

Conditions: HIV Infections

Summary: the purpose of study gs-01-934 was to assess the efficacy and safety of two simplified antiretroviral treatment (art) regimens in art-naive, human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (hiv-1) infected participants. the primary objective of the study was to assess noninferiority of emtricitabine (ftc) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (tenofovir df; tdf) in combination with efavirenz (efv) relative to combivir (cbv) in combination with efv in the treatment of hiv-1 infected art-naive participants, determined by the achievement and maintenance of confirmed hiv-1 ribonucleic acid (rna) \< 400 copies/ml (c/ml) through week 48, as defined by the united states (us) food and drug administration (fda) time-to-loss-of-virologic-response (tlovr) algorithm.

this study was originally planned as a 48-week, phase 3, randomized, open-label, multicenter study comparing efv+ftc+tdf (administered as the individual component drugs) versus cbv (lamivudine/zidovudine) + efv to assess the efficacy and safety of both treatments in art-naive, hiv-1 infected participants. the regimen of cbv (administered twice daily) + efv (administered once daily) served as the active control treatment and was compared with the regimen of efv+ftc+tdf; each component drug in the efv+ftc+tdf regimen was administered once daily. week 48 to week 96: the study was extended and continued to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the two regimens up to a total treatment duration of 96 weeks. the regimen of efv+ftc+tdf continued to be dosed as the component drugs (efv + ftc + tdf), once daily, without regard to meals. the regimen of cbv+efv was dosed as 2 pills (cbv, twice daily in the morning without regard to meals) + efv (once daily, without regard to meals). week 96 to week 144: a further study extension changed the 3-pill efv+ftc+tdf regimen to a 2-pill regimen of efv + truvada (\[tvd\]: a fixed-dose combination pill containing ftc/tdf), once daily without regard to meals, and continued to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the two regimens for a further 48 weeks up to a total study treatment duration of 144 weeks. the regimen of cbv+efv continued to be dosed as 2 pills (cbv, twice daily in the morning without regard to meals) + efv (once daily, without regard to meals). week 144 to end of study (week 240): a final study extension provided all study participants from both treatment regimens the option to switch their respective treatments to the 1-pill regimen of for a further 96 weeks up to a total study duration of 240 weeks (5 years) to further assess the efficacy and safety of art regimen simplification. at sites in france, the study was extended by a further 48 weeks (year 6) or until atr became commercially available (whichever happened first); once atr became commercially available in france participants were not required to complete the full 288 weeks of the study.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: participants must have met all inclusion criteria within 28 days prior to randomization unless specified otherwise including: * plasma hiv-1 rna levels greater than 10,000 c/ml using roche amplicor hiv-1 monitor test version 1.5 standard * adequate renal function: calculated creatinine clearance greater than or equal to 50 ml/min according to the cockcroft-gault formula. * hepatic transaminases (aspartate aminotransferase \[ast\] and alanine aminotransferase \[alt\]) 3 x upper limit of normal (uln). * total bilirubin less than or equal to 1.5 mg/dl. * adequate hematologic function (absolute neutrophil count greater than or equal to 1,000/mm\^3; platelets greater than or equal to 50,000/mm\^3; hemoglobin greater than or equal to 8.0 g/dl). * serum amylase less than or equal to 1.5 x uln. * serum phosphorus greater than or equal to 2.2 mg/dl. * willingness to use effective contraception by both males and females while on study treatment and for 30 days following study drug completion. * life expectancy greater than or equal to 1 year * the ability to understand and sign written informed consent form obtained prior to initiation of study procedures. exclusion criteria: participants were not eligible for entry to the study if any of the following were met: * prior treatment with any non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (nnrti), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (nrti), or protease inhibitor (pi). * a new aids-defining condition diagnosed (exception cd4 criteria) within 30 days of baseline. * receiving ongoing therapy with any of the following: nephrotoxic agents, probenecid, systemic chemotherapeutic agents, systemic corticosteroids, interleukin-2, drugs that interact with efavirenz. administration of any of the above medications must be discontinued at least 30 days prior to baseline visit and for duration of study. * pregnant or lactating participants. * malignancy other than cutaneous kaposi's sarcoma (ks) or basal cell carcinoma. participants with biopsy-confirmed ks were eligible but must not have received any systemic therapy for ks within 30 days of baseline and not anticipated starting systemic therapy during the study. * prior history of renal or bone disease. * any other clinical condition prior to therapy that would make the participant unsuitable for the study or unable to comply with the dosing requirements in the opinion of the investigator.

Keywords: human immunodeficiency virus