Gilead Trial Pause Adds To Merck & Co’s HIV Concerns

Might Be End Of Partnership

The partners are halting recruitment out of “an abundance of caution,” but Gilead could decide to exit the alliance if islatravir cannot shake off safety concerns.

Gilead_USA — Gilead is closing in on approval for its long-acting HIV therapy, but the future of its combination with Merck's drug is now uncertain • Source: Alamy

Doubts about the future of Merck & Co’s long-acting HIV candidate islatravir have grown after a second trial has been paused in a matter of days, this time a combination study with Gilead Sciences’s lenacapavir.

The companies said on 24 November that enrolment in the Phase II study of the investigational once-weekly oral combination had...