Frontier Biotechnologies announced that the Azerbaijan Republic Ministry of Health approved Aikening® (Albuvirtide), the first long-acting intravenous infusion for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults. Aikening® is a new fusion inhibitor given once weekly, used in combination dual therapy to treat people living with HIV who have failed initial treatment.
The approval of Aikening® is based on the pivotal phase 3 TALENT (Test Albuvirtide in Experienced Patients), which demonstrated that an albuvirtide-based two-drug treatment arm was non-inferior to a lopinavir (LPV)-based three-drug arm (75.7% vs 77.3%). The results showed successful achievement of the primary endpoint, with a good proportion of patients on the albuvirtide regimen with HIV RNA less than 50 copies/mL at 48 weeks. The drug demonstrated efficacy against major strains of HIV, including resistant strains.
Additionally, the subjects who experienced virological failure at 48 weeks did not present with treatment emergent resistant associated mutations with gp41. The high genetic barrier to resistance of albuvirtide and lopinavir combination two-drug regimen (ABT + LPV/r) meant no further resistance developed against these agents, which is important to avoid compromising future drug options for these treatment-experienced HIV patients.
Currently, there are 9,900 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Azerbaijan and 57% are receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART). More than 200 deaths related to AIDS have been reported. There is still room to help more PLHIV in Azerbaijan get access to ART. Source: AIDS info, Global data on HIV epidemiology and response; https://aidsinfo.unaids.org/ Accessed on 6 March 2022
Frontier Biotechnologies is commercializing Aikening® in Azerbaijan through its partnership with R-Pharm, a leading pharmaceutical company headquartered in Russia. The launch in Azerbaijan marks the first country of commercialization for Aikening® in the CIS (The Commonwealth of Independent States) region, paving the way for future launches in this region.
On June 17 2022, a scientific meeting was kicked off for medical professionals of the Azerbaijan Anti-AIDS Center. Professor He Shenghua, director of the infectious diseases department in Chengdu Public Health and Medical Center, delivered a lecture titled “New approach in HIV treatment”. Her lecture comprised of TALENT study results as well as the latest Chinese guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS (2021) issued by the Chinese Medical Association's Infectious Diseases Unit and the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention.