Mer­ck­'s ex­per­i­men­tal HIV drug is­la­travir hits with a PhI­II com­bo win and FDA fil­ing plans

Back in March, Mer­ck and Gilead agreed to a part­ner­ship to chal­lenge Glax­o­SmithK­line on long-act­ing HIV meds — by com­bin­ing one drug from both Mer­ck and Gilead that had shown po­ten­tial. While Gilead brought its cap­sid in­hibitor lenaca­pavir, Mer­ck brought is­la­travir in­to the deal — a small mol­e­cule that the phar­ma ac­quired in 2012 from a small Japan­ese firm.

While that part­ner­ship is on­go­ing, is­la­travir is com­ing out of 2 Phase III piv­otal tri­als with back-to-back suc­cess­es and plans to beat a quick ad­vance to the FDA.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER