Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - Thursday October 23, 2003
The drug cocktail combines Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s Videx, GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Epivir and Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Viread.
In a statement on its Web site, the agency said a failure rate of 91 percent in controlling levels of virus in the blood had been observed in a clinical study of patients given the cocktail who had not taken previous antiretroviral therapy.
As a precautionary measure, the London-based organization said the combination should not be used in new patients and those already taking it should be frequently monitored.
In July, the agency issued a similar warning about a slightly different triple combination containing Viread, Epivir and GSK's Ziagen after a study found that nearly half of patients on this regimen failed to respond.
In both cases, the precise nature of any interaction leading to non-response remains a mystery and the agency has asked the companies to investigate.
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