Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - November 18, 2005
The company used four different doses of MK-0518, a compound meant to block an enzyme needed for the HIV virus to enter a cell, as a standalone therapy in 35 patients over 10 days. The treatment lowered the virus levels in all patients by at least 98 percent in all doses, and half of the patients achieved a virus level of less than 400 copies per milliliter of blood. Patients enrolled had at least 5,000 copies of the virus per milliliter at the beginning of treatment.
Merck said it recently started a 48-week clinical trial testing MK-0518 against efavirenz, the active ingredient in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s Sustiva, and plans to study the drug for a longer time in more patients.
Shares of Merck rose 49 cents to $30.10 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
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