Merck to present data highlighting advancements across HIV prevention, treatment

Merck (MRK) announced that new data from its research pipeline for HIV prevention and treatment will be presented at the 13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science taking place July 13-17, 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda. Merck will share new scientific findings from its HIV clinical development programs, including Phase 2 data on the safety and pharmacokinetics of MK-8527, an investigational, novel nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor, dosed orally once monthly, in development for the prevention of HIV as pre-exposure prophylaxis. HIV clinical data presented at IAS 2025 from three Phase 3 trials will examine the impact of preexisting resistance-associated mutations in proviral DNA on the virologic response to doravirine/islatravir, with a primary focus on M184I/V in proviral DNA. Data will also be presented on the clinical development program for a once-weekly oral combination of islatravir and ulonivirine or the treatment of adults with HIV-1 infection. Data from two Phase 1 trials evaluating the safety and tolerability of weekly ulonivirine and drug interactions between islatravir and ulonivirine dosed weekly in adults without HIV and a Phase 2b dose-ranging study utilizing a higher dose of islatravir and 3 doses of ulonivirine in treatment naive adults living with HIV-1 will be presented. Based on results from these trials and pharmacokinetic modeling that will also be presented, a once-weekly oral combination of islatravir and ulonivirine is moving forward in clinical development. “As we continue to advance our HIV research, we are excited to present data from across our HIV pipeline at IAS 2025, including new data from our nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitors development programs,” said Dr. Elizabeth Rhee, vice president, global clinical development, Merck Research Laboratories. “With daily, weekly and monthly oral regimens in development, we aim to offer choices that can help address the evolving needs of individuals living with or impacted by HIV.”