GlaxoSmithKline, Shionogi & Co., Ltd. Say HIV Drug Beats Gilead Sciences, Inc. Atripla in Test

An experimental treatment for HIV developed by GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK), Pfizer Inc. (PFE) (PFE) and Shionogi & Co. (4507) reduced the virus in more people than Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) (GILD)’s Atripla, suggesting it may supplant the world’s best-selling AIDS medicine as the preferred front-line therapy. After 48 weeks of treatment, 88 percent of patients receiving a combination of dolutegravir and two other drugs in a study had undetectable levels of virus in their blood, compared with 81 percent of those getting Atripla, London-based Glaxo and Shionogi of Osaka, Japan, said in a joint statement today. The difference was primarily the result of more patients on Atripla dropping out because of side effects, they said.