A5336

A Randomized, Pilot Study of Ruxolitinib in Antiretroviral-Treated HIV-Infected Adults

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ruxolitinib in HIV-positive adults who were virologically suppressed and who were on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Ruxolitinib is a medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat myelofibrosis, a disorder in which bone marrow is replaced by scar (fibrosis) tissue. Many of the cytokines affected by myelofibrosis are also affected by HIV. Because of this, ruxolitinib may also be a possible treatment for HIV. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ruxolitinib in HIV-positive adults who were on ART and who were virologically suppressed. Researchers evaluated the effect ruxolitinib had on inflammation and immune activation.

This study enrolled HIV-positive adults who were on select ART regimens and who had viral suppression. ART was not provided by the study; participants continued to receive ART from their own health care providers. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either ruxolitinib (Arm A) or no study treatment (Arm B) in 2:1 ratio. Participants in Arm A received ruxolitinib twice a day for 5 weeks. All participants attended study visits at entry (Day 0) and Weeks 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, and 12. These visits included physical examinations, clinical assessments, blood collection, adherence assessments, oral swab collection, and pregnancy testing for female participants. At Weeks 1 and 4, participants in Arm A took part in pharmacokinetic (PK) sampling, which involved having blood drawn several times over 6 to 8 hours.