GlaxoSmithKline released a statement yesterday announcing that studies of their CCR5 inhibitor, aplaviroc, have been halted for treatment naive individuals. The statement says that "GSK has received reports of severe hepatotoxicity with elevated liver enzymes (AST, ALT) and total bilirubin in clinical trials involving treatment-naïve patients." Studies are continuing in people with treatment experience. It remains uncertain whether this problem is specific to GSK's drug or affects CCR5 inhibitors as a class. Results from studies of two other compounds currently in trials, Pfizer's maraviroc and Schering Plough's equally unpronouncable vicriviroc, should help clarify this question. Keith Alcorn has written about the GSK statement for AIDSmap:
http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/E5B361A5-CD4C-47B0-995F-869D174F1007.asp
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