Molecular design and evaluation of aza-polycyclic carbamoyl pyridones as HIV-1 integrase strand transfer inhibitors.

Integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) are the most prescribed anchor drug in antiretroviral therapy. Today, there is an increasing need for long-acting treatment of HIV-1 infection. Improving drug pharmacokinetics and anti-HIV-1 activity are key to developing more robust inhibitors suitable for long-acting formulations, but 2nd-generation INSTIs have chiral centers, making it difficult to conduct further exploration.

Barrier to Resistance of Dolutegravir in Two-Drug Combinations.

A major concern when using two-drug anti-HIV regimens is the risk of viral resistance. However, no techniques to evaluate the barrier to resistance of two-drug combinations have been reported. We evaluated the emergence of drug-resistant mutants in a passage study with constant concentrations of two drugs simultaneously.

Novel secondary mutations C56S and G149A confer resistance to HIV-1 integrase strand transfer inhibitors.

Cabotegravir (CAB, S/GSK1265744) is an investigational second-generation integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) with a chemical structure similar to dolutegravir. CAB is under development as a long-acting injectable formulation for treatment of HIV-1 infection and for pre-exposure prophylaxis. We conducted an in vitro passage study of raltegravir- or elvitegravir-resistant signature mutants in the presence of CAB to characterize the resistance profile of this drug.

Effects of raltegravir or elvitegravir resistance signature mutations on the barrier to dolutegravir resistance in vitro.

The recently approved HIV-1 integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) dolutegravir (DTG) (S/GSK1349572) has overall advantageous activity when tested in vitro against HIV-1 with raltegravir (RAL) and elvitegravir (EVG) resistance signature mutations. We conducted an in vitro resistance selection study using wild-type HIV-1 and mutants with the E92Q, Y143C, Y143R, Q148H, Q148K, Q148R, and N155H substitutions to assess the DTG in vitro barrier to resistance. No viral replication was observed at concentrations of ≥ 32 nM DTG, whereas viral replication was observed at 160 nM RAL or EVG in the mutants.

Antiviral characteristics of GSK1265744, an HIV integrase inhibitor dosed orally or by long-acting injection.

GSK1265744 is a new HIV integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) engineered to deliver efficient antiviral activity with a once-daily, low-milligram dose that does not require a pharmacokinetic booster. The in vitro antiviral profile and mechanism of action of GSK1265744 were established through integrase enzyme assays, resistance passage experiments, and cellular assays with site-directed molecular (SDM) HIV clones resistant to other classes of anti-HIV-1 agents and earlier INSTIs. GSK1265744 inhibited HIV replication with low or subnanomolar efficacy and with a selectivity index of at least 22,000 under the same culture conditions.

In Vitro antiretroviral properties of S/GSK1349572, a next-generation HIV integrase inhibitor.

S/GSK1349572 is a next-generation HIV integrase (IN) inhibitor designed to deliver potent antiviral activity with a low-milligram once-daily dose requiring no pharmacokinetic (PK) booster. In addition, S/GSK1349572 demonstrates activity against clinically relevant IN mutant viruses and has potential for a high genetic barrier to resistance. S/GSK1349572 is a two-metal-binding HIV integrase strand transfer inhibitor whose mechanism of action was established through in vitro integrase enzyme assays, resistance passage experiments, activity against viral strains resistant to other classes of anti-HIV agents, and mechanistic cellular assays.