DEVELOPMENT work on one of the most promising treatments for HIV/Aids sufferers in years has been stopped altogether after a last-ditch trial uncovered fresh safety problems.

GlaxosmithKline said yesterday that no further clinical trials of Aplaviroc were planned after tests on a patient linked the novel medicine to severe liver damage.

Europe’s biggest drugs maker halted Phase ll trials of the experimental treatment last month after two patients suffered liver damage. The group vowed to continue tests among volunteers who had become immune to other types of HIV medication. GSK said that it would now terminate the tests after a third patient experienced liver damage.

Scientists had hoped that the drug, which was originally developed in Japan by Ono Pharmaceuticals, might help patients who have built up a strong immunity to treatments such as AZT. Aplaviroc works by blocking HIV/Aids from entering cells where it replicates into a potential killer.

Most HIV/Aids treatments work inside immune cells after the virus has infected the body, and can cause side-effects such as anaemia, nerve pain and even organ damage.

Several rival drug makers, including Pfizer and Schering-Plough, are developing similar compounds, known as entry-inhibitor drugs, and analysts believe that the total market could be worth up to $700 million (£392 million) a year. It is understood that GSK is the only company to have experienced liver toxicity problems with its compound.

Aplaviroc’s failure is a rare setback for GSK. It is the only treatment in a portfolio of 15 late-stage drugs to have failed safety tests this year.

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