ViiV Healthcare, Halozyme to Develop Long-Acting HIV Treatment

ViiV Healthcare and biopharmaceutical company Halozyme Therapeutics recently announced a global collaboration and license agreement to develop long-acting HIV treatment. 

Under the agreement, ViiV Healthcare will have access to Halozyme’s ENHANZE drug delivery technology and recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 enzyme (rHuPH20), which are intended for specific targets used in the treatment and prevention of HIV. 

Additionally, the company will have exclusive use of Halozyme’s rHuPH20 technology for four HIV medicine targets that will expand opportunities for the development of nearly all its pipeline assets. 

These assets include integrase inhibitors, reverse transcriptase inhibitors limited to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI), and nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitors (NRTTIs). 

“Many people living with HIV and those vulnerable to HIV tell us that for a variety of reasons, taking medicine every day is a challenge, and we have listened to them,” Kimberly Smith, MD, MPH, head of research & development at ViiV Healthcare, said in the announcement. 

“We believe long-acting medicines are the future of HIV therapies and will help address these unmet needs. Our collaboration with Halozyme will keep us at the forefront of developing additional, innovative new options for HIV treatment and prevention as we work towards reducing the burden of HIV treatment,” Smith continued. 

PH20 enzyme breaks down hyaluronan (HA), which is found in the body’s subcutaneous space and acts as a barrier to the flow of fluid, a ViiV Healthcare spokesperson explained. 

Breaking down HA at the injection site allows large amounts of fluid to be injected into the subcutaneous space and dispersed that allows for the speedy delivery of large volume fluids, potentially reducing treatment burden of injectable drugs and providing optimized treatment options to patients.

Halozyme’s technology provides ViiV Healthcare with more opportunities to develop ultra long-acting medicines with its long-acting portfolio and pipeline products. 

“This collaboration demonstrates the potential value of our technology to facilitate rapid, large volume subcutaneous injections of not only more traditional medicines but also long-acting injectables, including small molecules, which in turn may further extend dosing intervals for people taking medicines for the treatment and prevention of HIV,” said Helen Torley, MB, ChB, MRCP, president and chief executive officer of Halozyme.

So far, Halozyme has licensed its technology to 11 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for potential use in oncology, autoimmune disease, rare disease, and infectious disease.

Additionally, the company has a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ Vaccine Research Center in the US.