Press release
Gilead Partners with CHAI and Penta to Improve Treatment and Adherence Rates Among Children with HIV in Low and Middle Income Countries
- Partnership Aims to Accelerate the Development of Dispersible Pediatric HIV Medicines - FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Gilead Sciences, Inc.
About this update from Gilead Sciences, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n- Partnership Aims to Accelerate the Development of Dispersible Pediatric HIV Medicines -\n\n\n FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nGilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) is pleased to announce two public-private partnerships. The first will accelerate the development of an investigational dispersible pediatric formulation containing emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide (F/TAF). The second aims to develop investigational pediatric formulations of TAF and sofosbuvir (SOF) designed to eliminate bitterness.\n\n\nFor more than 30 years, Gilead has been a leading innovator in the field of HIV, driving advances in treatment, prevention and cure research. Gilead is partnering with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and the Penta ID network, a scientific organization dedicated to child health research, to accelerate the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of a dispersible, fixed-dose combination treatment for the treatment of children with HIV who weigh at least 3 kg and live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This regimen will include Gilead’s products F/TAF. Under the terms of the agreement, Gilead will provide a technology transfer of currently available data for a dispersible formulation of F/TAF and supporting pharmacokinetic (PK) data. Penta, within the UNIVERSAL project which is funded by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), will develop PK modelling and clinical studies for the investigational combination formulation, and CHAI, with support from global health agency Unitaid, will be responsible for the global access strategy in collaboration with two generic manufacturers.\n\n\nIt is estimated that globally 1.7 million children under the age of 15 live with HIV. However, just over 50% of them are on antiretroviral treatment compared to 76% of adults living with HIV on treatment today. Many LMICs have a high burden of mother-to-child transmission and the prevalence of HIV among children remains high.\n\n\nGilead is also partnering with Monell Chemical Senses Center (Monell), Eurofins’ Translational Cell Models group (formerly known as DiscoveryBiomed, Inc. (DBM)) and CHAI to identify bitter blockers for pediatric formulations of the medications TAF and SOF. Identifying bitter blockers for these medications may help to improve adherence to medication ...