Background: Dispersible and immediate-release fixed-dose combinations (FDC) of abacavir, dolutegravir, and lamivudine are priority first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in children with HIV-1 (CWHIV). We report safety, efficacy and tolerability of these regimens through 48 weeks of treatment.
Methods: IMPAACT 2019 was a phase I/II, international, multisite, open-label, noncomparative study of dispersible and immediate-release FDC abacavir/dolutegravir/lamivudine (ABC/DTG/3TC) in participants with HIV-1 <12 years of age weighing 6 to <40 kg. At entry, participants were ART-naive or ART-experienced and virally suppressed on stable ART for ≥6 months. Participants received weight-banded dosing and enrolled across 5 weight bands in parallel. Follow-up visits were completed at weeks 1, 4, 12, 24, 36 and 48.
Results: Fifty-seven participants were enrolled; 2 participants withdrew due to poor drug tolerability. Fifty-four of 55 participants on the study at week 48 remained on the study drug. All 54 participants who remained on study drug through week 48 had viral loads of <200 copies/mL. CD4-lymphocyte counts remained stable with age over 48 weeks. Mean change (95% confidence interval) in body mass index Z-scores was 0.4 (0.2-0.6). Nine study drug-related adverse events were reported. One drug-induced liver injury attributed to abacavir and dolutegravir led to the permanent discontinuation of the study drug.
Conclusions: Dispersible FDC ABC/DTG/3TC is the first dispersible dolutegravir-containing single tablet regimen for CWHIV. Dispersible- and immediate-release ABC/DTG/3TC was observed to be generally safe, effective and well-tolerated in CWHIV through 48 weeks.
Keywords: antiretroviral; fixed-dose combination; integrase inhibitor; nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors; pediatric.
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