Johnson & Johnson group Janssen is seeking approval in the US to market a combination of its hugely popular HIV therapy Prezista (darunavir) and Gilead’s cobicistat in a single pill.
Approval of the combo would reduce the pill burden for HIV patients, for the first time eliminating the need for patients to take a separate booster pill alongside the darunavir therapy.
This could potentially help improve treatment adherence, which is crucial to achieving the best possible outcomes for those infected with the virus.
According to J&J, there are 34.5 million people living with HIV globally with 2.5 million newly infected each year. But, after just eight months of treatment, only 65% achieve 100% compliance, highlighting the scope for improvement.
If a green light is received from the US Food and Drug Administration, the fixed-dose combination pill will be marketed under a new brand name by Janssen, the firm said.
