Study: Pritelivir Shows Promise for Suppressing Genital Herpes
A new study suggests that pritelivir may be more effective at treating recurring genital herpes (HSV-2) than valacyclovir.
Researchers used a randomized, double blind trial to compare the ability of pritelivir and valacyclovir to suppress HVS-2 infection in 91 adults. Participants took either 100 mg of pritelivir or 500 mg of valacyclovir for 28 days, followed by a 28-day washout, then took the second drug for another 28 days. Genital swabs were collected 4 times a day to test HSV shedding, frequency of lesions and shedding, and quantity of HSV positive swabs.
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Their results showed that 2.4% of the swabs detected HSV-2 shedding during the pritelivir treatment, and 5.3% of the swabs detected HSV-2 shedding during the valacyclovir treatment. The presence of genital lesions detected on pritelivir was 1.9%, and genital lesions were detected on 3.9% during the valacyclovir treatment. There was no difference in frequency of shedding episodes in either group. In addition, the treatment-emergent adverse events arose in 69.2% of participants in the valacyclovir group and in 62.3% of participants in the pritelivir group.
Overall, researchers found that pritelivir resulted in lower HSV detection in 28 days than valacyclovir. Further research is needed to test the long-term safety and efficacy of pritelivir in patients with recurring genital HSV-2.
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Wald A, Timmler B, Magaret A, et al. Effect of pritelivir compared with valacyclovir on genital HSV-2 shedding in patients with frequent recurrence: a randomized clinical trial [published online December 20, 2016]. JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.18189.