Gilead’s single tablet regimen Odefsey got EU marketing authorization for HIV treatment

The European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Gilead Sciences’ once-daily single tablet regimen (STR) Odefsey (emtricitabine 200 mg/rilpivirine 25 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg or R/F/TAF) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in certain patients.

Odefsey combines Gilead’s emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide (marketed as Descovy) with rilpivirine, marketed by Janssen Sciences Ireland UC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. Following the approval of Genvoya in November 2015, Odefsey is Gilead’s second STR based on the Descovy backbone to receive marketing authorization in the European Union and is currently the smallest pill of any STR for the treatment of HIV.

Odefsey is indicated in the European Union for the treatment of adults and adolescents (ages 12 years and older with body weight at least 35 kg) without known mutations associated with resistance to the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) class, tenofovir or emtricitabine, and with a viral load less than 100,000 HIV-1 RNA copies/ml.

The marketing authorization for Odefsey is supported by a bioequivalence study demonstrating that Odefsey achieved similar drug levels of emtricitabine and TAF in the blood as Genvoya (elvitegravir 150 mg/cobicistat 150 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 10 mg; E/C/F/TAF) and similar drug levels of rilpivirine as Edurant (rilpivirine 25 mg). The safety, efficacy and tolerability of Odefsey are also supported by clinical studies of rilpivirine-based therapy (administered as R+F/TDF or Eviplera; emtricitabine 200 mg/rilpivirine 25 mg/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 245 mg) and F/TAF-based therapy (administered as Genvoya) in a range of patients with HIV-1 infection. These patients include treatment-naïve adults and adolescents, virologically suppressed adults who switched from protease inhibitor-based regimens, NNRTI-based regimens, or integrase strand transfer inhibitor-based regimens, and virologically suppressed adults with mild-to-moderate renal impairment. As with all rilpivirine-containing regimens, Odefsey should be taken with food.

The Odefsey approval is part of an ongoing development and commercialization agreement between Gilead and Janssen, first established in 2009. Under this agreement, Gilead is responsible for the manufacturing, registration, distribution and commercialization of Odefsey in most countries, while Janssen will distribute it in approximately 18 markets and have co-detailing rights in several key markets, including the United States. The original agreement was established for the development and commercialization of Eviplera, marketed as Complera® in the United States, and was expanded in 2014 to include Odefsey.