Background Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase (NNRTI) inhibitor-based antiretroviral therapy is not suitable for all treatment-naïve HIV-infected persons. Objective Perform a rigorous evaluation of three NNRTI-sparing initial antiretroviral regimens to demonstrate equivalence for virologic efficacy and tolerability. Design Phase-III, 1:1:1 randomized, open label, >96 week study. Setting Fifty-seven sites in United States and Puerto Rico. Patients Treatment naïve, ≥18 years, HIV-1 RNA >1000 copies/mL, no nucleoside reverse transcriptase or protease inhibitor resistance. Intervention Atazanavir 300 mg with ritonavir 100 mg, daily; or raltegravir 400 mg twice daily; or darunavir 800 mg with ritonavir 100 mg, daily; plus emtricitabine 200 mg + tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg daily. Measurements Virologic failure defined as confirmed HIV-1 RNA >1000 copies/mL between 16 and 24 weeks, or >200 copies/mL at or after 24 weeks; tolerability failure defined as discontinuation of atazanavir, raltegravir or darunavir for toxicity. A secondary endpoint was a combination of virologic efficacy and tolerability. Results Among 1,809 participants all pairwise comparisons of incidence of virologic failure over 96-weeks demonstrated equivalence within ±10%. Raltegravir and ritonavir-boosted darunavir were equivalent for tolerability, whereas ritonavir-boosted atazanavir resulted in a 12.7% and a 9.2% higher incidence of tolerability discontinuation than raltegravir and ritonavir-boosted darunavir respectively, primarily due to hyperbilirubinemia. For combined virologic efficacy and tolerability ritonavir-boosted darunavir was superior to ritonavir-boosted atazanavir, and raltegravir was superior to both protease inhibitors. Antiretroviral resistance at time of virologic failure was rare but more likely with raltegravir. Limitations Open label; ritonavir not provided Conclusions Over 2 years all three regimens attain high and equivalent rates of virologic control. Regimens containing raltegravir or ritonavir-boosted darunavir have superior tolerability compared to the ritonavir-boosted atazanavir regimen. Primary Funding Source National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Simplification to EFV/FTC/TDF maintained high and comparable rates of virologic suppression vs. SBR through 48 weeks.