The European Commission has granted marketing authorization to Gilead Sciences’ once-daily single tablet regimen Genvoya (elvitegravir 150 mg/cobicistat 150 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 10 mg or E/C/F/TAF) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. Genvoya is indicated in the EU for the treatment of adults and adolescents (aged 12 years and older with body weight at least 35 kg) infected with HIV-1 without any known mutations associated with resistance to the integrase inhibitor class, emtricitabine or tenofovir.

TAF is a targeted prodrug of tenofovir that has demonstrated high antiviral efficacy similar to and at a dose less than one-tenth that of Gilead's Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, TDF), as well as improvement in surrogate laboratory markers of renal and bone safety as compared to TDF in clinical trials in combination with other antiretroviral agents. Data show that because TAF enters cells, including HIV-infected cells, more efficiently than TDF, it can be given at a lower dose resulting in 91% less tenofovir in the bloodstream, according to Gilead.

In addition to Genvoya, two other TAF-based regimens are currently under evaluation by the European Medicines Agency. The first is an investigational, fixed-dose combination of emtricitabine 200 mg and tenofovir alafenamide 25 or 10 mg (F/TAF) for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents. The second is an investigational, once-daily single tablet regimen that combines emtricitabine 200 mg, tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg and rilpivirine 25 mg (R/F/TAF). Emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide are from Gilead and rilpivirine is from Janssen Sciences Ireland UC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

Source: Gilead Sciences