SWATCH study data reported at 8^th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections

Chicago, US, 8 February, 2001 - Data presented at the 8^th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, demonstrate that proactive switching of first line highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) using Viracept and an NNRTI produced greater treatment success in HIV positive patients than current standard of care regimens. These greater virologic and immunologic outcomes following a strategy of therapy switching were highlighted by the SWATCH study.

The SWATCH study is an ongoing international prospective and randomised trial designed to compare the clinical responses of strategic proactive treatment switching with two standard of care treatment regimes as a first line treatment option. Fifty-eight (tbc) patients have reached nine months of follow-up, with an on- treatment analysis reporting 71% of patients on efavirenz + 2 nucleoside analogues achieving less than 400 HIV-1 RNA copies/ mL, compared to 83% on Viracept + 2 nucleoside analogues and 100% of those who switched between these two arms every three months.

‘These results demonstrate the highly effective and tolerable role of nelfinavir in first line treatment strategies’ said Dr. B. Clotet, Head of HIV Unit and Director of Retrovirology Laboratory, Fundació irsiCaixa, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol Barcelona, Spain.

‘Proactive switching of first line HAART using nelfinavir and efavirenz produced greater success than the standard of care regimes and will continue to be monitored for long- term results ‘

This treatment strategy of proactive switching should be feasible in everyday clinical practice since drug adherence and adverse events were similar in all three treatment arms. In the study, patients had access to a broad range of support services to facilitate the effective management of the successive change between the two twice-daily regimens. A similar level of clinic support may be required to ensure the acheivability of this treatment strategy in routine clinical practice.

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-oriented healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and vitamins. Roche’s innovative products and services address needs for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, thus enhancing people’s well-being and quality of life. Roche has approximately 63,900 employees and sells its products in over 170 countries. The Roche Group posted sales of 20.3 billion Swiss francs in the first nine months of 2000. In the first half of 2000 the company’s net income amounted to 3 billion Swiss francs. It invested 1.9 billion Swiss francs in research and development.

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