AIDS 2014Selzentry (maraviroc) failed in a head-to-head with Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) as a first-line treatment for HIV when each were paired with Prezista (ritonavir-boosted darunavir), aidsmap reports. Researchers from the double-blind Phase II MODERN study presented their findings at the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) in Melbourne, Australia.

The investigators enrolled over 1,400 treatment-naive HIV-positive adults. After testing to see if the participants were susceptible to Selzentry, the pool was narrowed to 797 people who were equally randomized to receive Prezista paired with either Selzentry or Truvada. With the treatment continuing for 96 weeks, the researchers were ultimately looking to see the proportion of each study arm that achieved an undetectable viral load at the 48-week mark.

Seventy-seven percent of those in the Selzentry arm had a fully suppressed virus by 48 weeks, compared with 87 percent of those in the Truvada arm. Those who started the study with a low viral load wound up with similar rates of viral suppression: a respective 80 and 89 percent in the Selzentry and Truvada arms. However, starting with a high viral load led to worse outcomes for those in the Selzentry group: Just 65 percent had an undetectable viral load after 48 weeks, compared with 80 percent in the Truvada group.

Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the Selzentry regimen failed to qualify for “non-inferior” status when compared with the Truvada combination, and the trial was discontinued early.

To read the aidsmap story, click here.

To read the conference abstract, click here.