Long-acting HIV prophylaxis only needs to be taken orally once a month, Phase 2 clinical results are positive

Merck & Co.

PrEP is an important means to reduce HIV infection.

Islatravir is an innovative NRTTI developed by Merck.

▲Islatravir's research and development plan (picture source: reference [2])

In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2a clinical trial, 242 participants with low risk of HIV infection were randomly divided into three groups, with a monthly oral dose of 60 or 120 mg of islatravir, or Placebo

The trial results showed that islatravir showed good safety, and only less than 1% (n=2) of participants withdrew from the trial due to adverse events (AE)

Pharmacokinetic studies have shown that the minimum concentration of islatravir in peripheral blood mononuclear cells during the treatment period is still higher than the preset threshold that can maintain the therapeutic effect

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference materials:

[1] Merck Presents New Data from Ongoing Phase 2a Clinical Trial Evaluating the Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of Investigational, Once-Monthly, Oral Islatravir for HIV-1 Prevention at IAS 2021.

[2] slatravir Clinical Program Overview.