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The following is a summary of “Real-world effectiveness and safety of BIC/FTC/TAF in comparison with other regimens in people with HIV starting therapy with AIDS-defining conditions. Results from the CORIS Cohort: The ACTUAS II Study,” published in the March 2025 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases by Pérez-Valero et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of BIC/FTC/TAF in individuals with AIDS who initiated therapy.  

They analyzed treatment-naïve adults with AIDS from the CoRIS Cohort to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of BIC/FTC/TAF with other first-line antiretroviral therapies. Logistic regression models estimated odds ratios (ORs) for viral suppression (VS) at HIV RNA <50 copies/mL and immunological recovery (IR) at CD4 count >200 cells/mm³. Time to VS and treatment discontinuation rates were assessed at weeks 24 and 48 after initiating ART.  

The results showed that 90 individuals-initiated ART with BIC/FTC/TAF and 94 with other regimens with similar baseline characteristics. At week 24, BIC/FTC/TAF was linked to a higher VS rate (75.6% vs 56.5%, aOR: 2.78; 95%CI: 1.28–6.25) and a lower IR rate (47.7% vs 61.9%, aOR: 0.49; 95%CI: 0.25–0.99), but these differences were no longer observed at week 48. Treatment discontinuation rates were lower with BIC/FTC/TAF than with other regimens at week 24 (4.4% vs 20.2%) and week 48 (10% vs 36.2%). At week 48, discontinuations were mainly due to adverse events (3.3% vs 8.5%), toxicity prevention (1.1% vs 8.5%), ART simplification (0% vs 10.6%), and treatment failure (2.2% vs 4.3%).  

Investigators concluded that based on the results, BIC/FTC/TAF was an effective and well-tolerated option for initiating ART in adults with AIDS. 

Source: academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaf162/8098170