• FluTrackers.com Inc. does not provide medical advice. Information on this web site is collected from various internet resources, and the FluTrackers board of directors makes no warranty to the safety, efficacy, correctness or completeness of the information posted on this site by any author or poster. The information collated here is for instructional and/or discussion purposes only and is NOT intended to diagnose or treat any disease, illness, or other medical condition. Every individual reader or poster should seek advice from their personal physician/healthcare practitioner before considering or using any interventions that are discussed on this website. By continuing to access this website you agree to consult your personal physican before using any interventions posted on this website, and you agree to hold harmless FluTrackers.com Inc., the board of directors, the members, and all authors and posters for any effects from use of any medication, supplement, vitamin or other substance, device, intervention, etc. mentioned in posts on this website, or other internet venues referenced in posts on this website.
  • We are not asking for any donations. Do not donate to any entity who says they are raising funds for us.

NEJM: Baloxavir Marboxil for Uncomplicated Influenza in Adults and Adolescents

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
[h=1]Baloxavir Marboxil for Uncomplicated Influenza in Adults and Adolescents[/h]
  • Frederick G. Hayden, M.D.,
  • Norio Sugaya, M.D.,
  • Nobuo Hirotsu, M.D., Ph.D.,
  • Nelson Lee, M.D.,
  • Menno D. de Jong, M.D., Ph.D.,
  • Aeron C. Hurt, Ph.D.,
  • Tadashi Ishida, M.D., Ph.D.,
  • Hisakuni Sekino, M.D., Ph.D.,
  • Kota Yamada, M.D.,
  • Simon Portsmouth, M.D.,
  • Keiko Kawaguchi, M.Sc.,
  • Takao Shishido, Ph.D.,
  • Masatsugu Arai, M.Sc.,
  • Kenji Tsuchiya, M.Sc.,
  • Takeki Uehara, Ph.D.,
  • and Akira Watanabe, M.D., Ph.D.
  • for the Baloxavir Marboxil Investigators Group[SUP]*[/SUP]


[h=2]Abstract[/h] [h=3]Background[/h] Baloxavir marboxil is a selective inhibitor of influenza cap-dependent endonuclease. It has shown therapeutic activity in preclinical models of influenza A and B virus infections, including strains resistant to current antiviral agents.
[h=3]Methods[/h] We conducted two randomized, double-blind, controlled trials involving otherwise healthy outpatients with acute uncomplicated influenza. After a dose-ranging (10 to 40 mg) placebo-controlled trial, we undertook a placebo- and oseltamivir-controlled trial of single, weight-based doses of baloxavir (40 or 80 mg) in patients 12 to 64 years of age during the 2016?2017 season. The dose of oseltamivir was 75 mg twice daily for 5 days. The primary efficacy end point was the time to alleviation of influenza symptoms in the intention-to-treat infected population.
[h=3]Results[/h] In the phase 2 trial, the median time to alleviation of influenza symptoms was 23.4 to 28.2 hours shorter in the baloxavir groups than in the placebo group (P<0.05). In the phase 3 trial, the intention-to-treat infected population included 1064 patients; 84.8 to 88.1% of patients in each group had influenza A(H3N2) infection. The median time to alleviation of symptoms was 53.7 hours (95% confidence interval [CI], 49.5 to 58.5) with baloxavir, as compared with 80.2 hours (95% CI, 72.6 to 87.1) with placebo (P<0.001). The time to alleviation of symptoms was similar with baloxavir and oseltamivir. Baloxavir was associated with greater reductions in viral load 1 day after initiation of the regimen than placebo or oseltamivir. Adverse events were reported in 20.7% of baloxavir recipients, 24.6% of placebo recipients, and 24.8% of oseltamivir recipients. The emergence of polymerase acidic protein variants with I38T/M/F substitutions conferring reduced susceptibility to baloxavir occurred in 2.2% and 9.7% of baloxavir recipients in the phase 2 trial and phase 3 trial, respectively.
[h=3]Conclusions[/h] Single-dose baloxavir was without evident safety concerns, was superior to placebo in alleviating influenza symptoms, and was superior to both oseltamivir and placebo in reducing the viral load 1 day after initiation of the trial regimen in patients with uncomplicated influenza. Evidence for the development of decreased susceptibility to baloxavir after treatment was also observed. (Funded by Shionogi; JapicCTI number, 153090, and CAPSTONE-1 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02954354.)

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1716197?query=featured_home
 
EditorialFree Preview
[h=1]A Step Forward in the Treatment of Influenza[/h]
  • Timothy M. Uyeki, M.D., M.P.H., M.P.P.


This article has no abstract; the first 100 words appear below.
For many years, antiviral treatment of influenza has consisted of monotherapy with a neuraminidase inhibitor. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the neuraminidase inhibitors oseltamivir (oral administration) and zanamivir (oral inhalation) in 1999 and peramivir (intravenous administration) in late 2014. These drugs work by binding to the viral neuraminidase protein and interfering with the release of influenza virus particles from infected respiratory tract cells. Neuraminidase inhibitors are FDA-approved for the treatment of uncomplicated influenza within 2 days after onset in outpatients, on the basis of randomized, controlled trials, but they are also recommended for the treatment of patients with . . .


Disclosure forms provided by the author are available with the full text of this editorial at NEJM.org.
The views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe1810815
 
Back
Top Bottom