Alternative combinations of antiretrovirals (ARVs) are desired to increase treatment options for HIV-infected patients. PROGRESS was a randomized, open-label, 96-week pilot study comparing a regimen of lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) 400/100 mg twice daily in combination with either raltegravir (RAL) 400 mg twice daily or tenofovir/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) 300/200 mg once daily in ARV-naive adults. A total of 206 subjects were randomized and treated (LPV/r+RAL, N=101; LPV/r+TDF/FTC, N=105). Demographics and baseline characteristics were similar across treatment groups. At 96 weeks, 66.3% of subjects receiving LPV/r+RAL and 68.6% of subjects receiving LPV/r+TDF/FTC were responders (plasma HIV-1 RNA levels<40 copies/ml) by the FDA time to loss of virologic response (FDA-TLOVR) algorithm (p=0.767). Mean CD4(+) T cell increases through 96 weeks were similar between treatment groups (LPV/r+RAL=281 cells/mm(3), LPV/r+TDF/FTC=296 cells/mm(3), p=0.598). Safety and tolerability were generally similar between groups. The LPV/r+RAL regimen resulted in greater increases in peripheral fat, but not trunk fat, compared with LPV/r+TDF/FTC. There was a statistically significantly greater mean reduction in estimated glomerular filtration rate from baseline to week 96 in the LPV/r+TDF/FTC group compared with the LPV/r+RAL group (-7.33 ml/min vs. -1.43 ml/min; p=0.035). The LPV/r+TDF/FTC group had a statistically significant (p<0.001) mean percent decrease from baseline to week 96 in bone mineral density, which was significantly different from the mean percent change in the LPV/r+RAL group (-2.48% vs. +0.68%, p<0.001). These efficacy and safety observations support further evaluation of the LPV/r+RAL regimen.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00711009.