FDA approves Trogarzo for adults with HIV.- Theratechnologies.

The FDA has approved Trogarzo (ibalizumab-uiyk), from Theratechnologies, as medication for adult patients living with HIV who have tried multiple HIV medications in the past (heavily treatment-experienced) and whose HIV infections cannot be successfully treated with other currently available therapies (multidrug resistant HIV, or MDR HIV). Trogarzo is administered intravenously once every 14 days by a trained medical professional and used in combination with other antiretroviral medications.

The safety and efficacy of Trogarzo were evaluated in a clinical trial of 40 heavily treatment-experienced patients with MDR HIV-1 who continued to have high levels of virus (HIV-RNA) in their blood despite being on antiretroviral drugs. Many of the participants had previously been treated with 10 or more antiretroviral drugs. The majority of participants experienced a significant decrease in their HIV-RNA levels one week after Trogarzo was added to their failing antiretroviral regimens. After 24 weeks of Trogarzo plus other antiretroviral drugs, 43 percent of the trial's participants achieved HIV RNA suppression. The most common adverse reactions to Trogarzo were diarrhea, dizziness, nausea and rash. Severe side effects included rash and changes in the immune system (immune reconstitution syndrome).

Comment:The clinical trial focused on the small patient population with limited treatment options and demonstrated the benefit of Trogarzo in achieving reduction of HIV RNA. The seriousness of the disease, the need to individualize other drugs in the treatment regimen, and safety data from other trials were considered in evaluating the Trogarzo development program.