The US FDA has approved Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Evotaz in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults.
Evotaz combines BMS’ Reyataz (atazanavir) with Gilead Science’s boosting agency cobicistat as part of a once-daily pill to be taken over a 48-week course.
The treatment is the outcome of an agreement made between BMS and Gilead in 2011, when they agreed to develop and market a fixed-dose combination HIV treatment
Murdo Gordon, head of worldwide markets at BMS, commented: “Evotaz increases the possibility of providing HIV suppression by combining reduced pill burden with a low rate of virologic failure and zero protease inhibitor mutations.”
Cobicistat is already a crucial part of several HIV treatments, including Rezolsta/Prezcobix, which pairs the drug with Janssen’s Prezista (darunavir), and Gilead’s own combination therapy Stribild.
Reyataz is also a successful monotherapy treatment for HIV managing worldwide revenues of more than $1bn for the first nine months of 2014.
BMS is responsible for the manufacturing and sale of the cobicistat-boosted eyataz product and will pay Gilead royalties on sales.