Multi-center Study to Evaluate Virological Efficacy, Safety Tolerability, Drug Exposure and Patients' Reported Outcomes Over 48 Weeks Following Randomization to 2-drug Therapy With DTG/3TC FDC or Continuing Current Antiretroviral Tenofovir (TAF or TDF)-Containing Regimen (T-CR) in HIV-1 Infected Virologically Suppressed

Strategies for optimizing antiretroviral treatment in virologically suppressed patients are still a major challenge in the field of HIV. These strategies include improving the toxicity and tolerability of drugs in the short and long term, such as replacing toxic agents with safer ones or reducing the number of drugs in the combination. Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is a novel prodrug of tenofovir (TFV) that is converted intracellularly to the active form, resulting in higher concentrations of TFV diphosphate in circulating lymphocytes than those obtained with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF). Because of these pharmacokinetic properties, TAF results in 91% lower plasma exposure to TFV. Phase 3 studies have established the virological noninferiority of TAF to TDF, with a lower frequency of renal and bone adverse events. Replacing TDF with TAF may be a safe and effective option to reduce toxicities when switching from one ARV strategy to another and, to date, could represent the optimization of a three-drug regimen. Dolutegravir (DTG) is a potent INSTI that exhibits rapid and potent viral load reduction and a high barrier to resistance.