Who is the Target Population for Raltegravir HD?

Pedro Cahn, MD, Chief, Infectious Disease Unit, Juan A. Fernandez Hospital; and lead study investigator for the onceMRK Phase 3 clinical trial explains who the target population is for raltegravir HD.

Interview Transcript (modified slightly for readability):

“First of all, raltegravir is part of the major international guidelines as one of the preferred drugs [to treat HIV]. You can see this in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) panel from the United States and the Indian Health Service panel, the European guidelines, etc. [The treatment has been] twice-a-day, and I assume that the guidelines will rapidly adopt the once-a-day formulation as a preferred option.

I think that another population that could rapidly move to raltegravir once-a-day is the 100s of thousands of people that are currently on the raltegravir twice-a-day formulation. They will switch to raltegravir once-a-day because it is better. If you are on a treatment that requires you to take a pill twice-a-day, and your doctor offers you a way to continue with the same treatment, but only take a pill once-a-day, you would probably select the once-a-day treatment.”