NIH reports data from Truvada arm in Phase IIb VOICE trial

NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said oral Truvada emtricitabine/tenofovir from Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) did not reduce the incidence of new HIV infections vs. oral placebo in the Phase IIb VOICE (MTN-003) trial to prevent HIV infection (4.7% vs. 4.6%). NIAID discontinued two other arms in the trial -- oral Viread tenofovir and tenofovir 1% vaginal gel -- in 2011 after interim analyses showed that neither tenofovir product led to a difference in the incidence of new HIV infections vs. placebo. The trial enrolled 5,029 sexually active HIV-negative women. Data were presented at the Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections meeting in Atlanta. The trial was sponsored by NIAID and conducted by the Microbicide Trials Network (see BioCentury Extra, Sept. 28, 2011). ...