Viral Load Decay in Antiretroviral-Naive Patients Receiving Once-Daily Tenofovir and Emtricitabine plus Twice-Daily Nevirapine

Purpose: The once-daily nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor backbone of tenofovir and emtricitabine has been proven effective in combination with efavirenz and protease inhibitors in large clinical trials. This study evaluated tenofovir and emtricitabine in combination with nevirapine. Methods: Viral load was assessed at baseline, Day 3, and Day 7 in addition to Weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 60, 72, and 84 in 10 antiretroviral-naive patients participating in an open-label clinical trial of tenofovir and emtricitabine once daily in combination with nevirapine twice daily. Results: All patients achieved viral decay with this combination. Two patients discontinued prior to virologic suppression, one with a viral load of 55 copies/mL. Virologic suppression (<50 copies/mL) was achieved by Week 24 in the remaining 8 patients. An undetectable viral load was maintained during >= 60 weeks follow-up. Conclusion: In this study of treatment-naive patients, the combination of tenofovir and emtricitabine plus twice-daily nevirapine produced sustained viral load decay in patients including those with a high baseline viral load.