Randomized trial comparing saquinavir soft gelatin capsules versus indinavir as part of triple therapy (CHEESE study)

Objective: To compare efficacy and tolerability of saquinavir soft gelatin capsule (SQV-SGC) formulation and indinavir, both given as part of a triple drug regimen containing zidovudine and lamivudine, in HIV-l-infected individuals. Design: Randomized, open label, multicentre study. Patients: A total of 70 patients who were antiretroviral-naive and who had a CD4 cell count < 500 x 10(6)/1 and/or > 10 000 HIV RNA copies/ml plasma and/or HIV-related symptoms. Subjects were assigned randomly to zidovudine 200 mg three times per day plus lamivudine 150 mg twice per day plus either SQV-SGC 1200 mg three times per day (SQV-SGC group) or indinavir 800 mg three times per day (indinavir group). Data are presented for all patients up to week 24. Results: Mean baseline CD4 cell counts (+/- SE) were 301 +/- 29 x 10(6) cells/l and 310 +/- 43 x 10(6) cells/l in the SQV-SCC and indinavir groups, respectively. The log,, median baseline HIV RNA load was 5.00 copies/ml in the SQV-SCC group and 4.98 copies/ml in the indinavir group. No difference in antiretroviral effect between the treatment arms could be demonstrated. Intention-to-treat analysis (last observation carried forward [LOCF]) at week 24 revealed that RNA levels decreased to < 50 copies/ml in 74.3% of patients in the SQV-SGC group and in 71.4% of the patients in the indinavir group (P = 0.78). In the on-treatment analysis the proportion of patients < 50 copies/ml at week 24 was 88.0% in the SQV-SCC group and 84.6% in the indinavir group (P = 0.725). Intriguingly, the mean increase of CD4 cells in the first 24 weeks was 162 +/- 20x10(6) cells/l in the SQV-SCC group and 89 +/- 21 x 10(6) cells/l in the indinavir group (P = 0.01), but preliminary data indicate that this difference in CD4 cell count gain may disappear after 24 weeks of treatment. Both regimens were generally well tolerated. Conclusion: During the first 24 weeks of the study, we found no difference in antiviral potency between the indinavir group and the SQV-SCC group. A significantly higher CD4 response in the SQV-SGC group was observed. (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.