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Drug information

Drug's link(s)

Not provided

Generic name

Not provided

Brand names

Not provided

Compound type

Small molecule

Summary

Not provided

Approval status

Unknown

Regulatory authorities

Unknown

Therapeutic area(s)

  • HIV
Use case(s)
  • Treatment

Administration route

Oral

Associated long-acting platforms

Oral solid form

Use of drug

Ease of administration
  • Self-administered
User acceptance

Not provided

Dosage

Available dose and strength

Not provided

Frequency of administration

Not provided

Maximum dose

Not provided

Recommended dosing regimen

Not provided

Additional comments

Not provided

Dosage link(s)

Not provided

Formulations

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Main compound
Islatravir (ISL)
Related formulations

MK-8591B (islatravir + ulonivirine)

Associated technologies

Not provided

Comment & Information

Not provided

Developer(s)

Merck & Co., Inc.
Originator
United States

Drug structure

Scale-up and manufacturing prospects

Scale-up prospects

Not provided

Tentative equipment list for manufacturing

Not provided

Manufacturing

Not provided

Specific analytical instrument required for characterization of formulation

Not provided

Excipients

Proprietary excipients used

Not provided

Novel excipients or existing excipients at a concentration above Inactive Ingredient Database (IID) for the specified route of administration

Not provided

Residual solvents used

Not provided

Delivery device(s)

No delivery device

There are either no relevant patents or these were not yet submitted to LAPaL

Publications

Matthews RP, Patel M, Liu W, Liu Y, Rondón JC, Vargo RC, Stoch SA, Iwamoto M.2025.

Pharmacokinetics of islatravir in participants with moderate hepatic impairment.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother69:e01553-24.https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.01553-24

Islatravir (ISL) is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor in development for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. People living with HIV are at risk of liver disease. ISL is metabolized by adenosine deaminase (ADA), which is expressed in the liver; thus, ISL pharmacokinetics (PK) may be affected by hepatic impairment. This study evaluated the effect of moderate hepatic impairment on ISL PK. This nonrandomized, open-label, phase 1 study (MK-8591-030) evaluated the effects of a single oral dose of ISL 60 mg in HIV-seronegative adults with moderate hepatic insufficiency (n = 6) and matched healthy adult participants (n = 6). Blood samples for plasma ISL and 4′-ethynyl-2-fluoro-2′deoxyinosine (M4) and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) ISL-triphosphate (ISL-TP) were collected at multiple time points through 672 h, and safety was monitored throughout. Modest decreases in maximum measured concentration (Cmax) and area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of plasma ISL and AUC of PBMC ISL-TP were observed in participants with moderate hepatic impairment versus matched healthy participants, while ISL-TP Cmax was relatively unchanged. In contrast, plasma M4 was modestly increased in the moderate hepatic impairment group, suggesting that hepatic impairment may result in increased metabolism of ISL to M4 via ADA. The clinical relevance of the overall modest changes in M4, ISL, and ISL-TP levels with moderate hepatic impairment will be contextualized once exposure response data from ongoing clinical studies are available to elucidate the thresholds for clinical efficiency. A single oral dose of ISL 60 mg was generally well tolerated in both groups.

Collaborate for development

Consider on a case by case basis, collaborating on developing long acting products with potential significant public health impact, especially for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), utilising the referred to long-acting technology

Share technical information for match-making assessment

Provide necessary technical information to a potential partner, under confidentiality agreement, to enable preliminary assessment of whether specific medicines of public health importance in LMICs might be compatible with the referred to long-acting technology to achieve a public health benefit

Work with MPP to expand access in LMICs

In the event that a product using the referred to long-acting technology is successfully developed, the technology IP holder(s) will work with the Medicines Patent Pool towards putting in place the most appropriate strategy for timely and affordable access in low and middle-income countries, including through licensing