Real world utilisation of doravirine among people living with human immunodeficiency virus in England (DRIVE-REAL)

Background Doravirine is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor recommended for the treatment of virologically suppressed and treatment naïve people living with HIV. The DRIVE-REAL study aimed to describe the characteristics, treatment patterns, and virological outcomes of doravirine users in a real-world cohort in the UK. Methods A retrospective, observational, multi-centre chart review was conducted for 300 adults living with HIV initiating doravirine-containing antiretroviral therapy. Results At baseline 83% of individuals were male, 45% aged ≥50 years, 65% white ethnicity. Median time since HIV diagnosis was 12 years. 96% were antiretroviral therapy-experienced, 87% had a HIV viral load <50 copies/ml, and 15% had resistance to at least one antiretroviral drug. 66% had comorbidities, most commonly depression (26%), and 70% were taking at least one co-medication. At six months, 94% ( n = 283/300) were still receiving doravirine. Viral load data were available for n = 266/300 individuals and 95% ( n = 253/266) had viral load <50 copies/ml. Conclusions Individuals initiating doravirine in this cohort are predominantly treatment-experienced white middle-aged males, with a high frequency of comorbidities and co-medication. The majority of individuals at 6 months remained on doravirine and maintained or achieved HIV viral suppression. This study provides epidemiologic characteristics that can inform clinical care and subsequent hypothesis-testing studies.