Gilead HIV drug meets main goal of trial

Gilead Sciences Inc said on Wednesday that its experimental HIV drug elvitegravir met the main goal of a late-stage clinical trial.

The goal was to demonstrate that the drug is as effective after 48 weeks of treatment, dosed once daily, as Isentress, a drug made by Merck & Co which is dosed twice daily in combination with other antiretroviral drugs.

Discontinuation rates caused by adverse events were comparable in both arms of the study, the company said. Gilead plans to submit the data for presentation at a scientific conference later this year.

Elvitegravir is designed to block the ability of the HIV virus to integrate into the genetic material of human cells. Gilead licensed the drug from Japan Tobacco Inc in March 2005. Gilead has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the drug everywhere except Japan.

(Reporting by Toni Clarke, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

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(Reuters)