What is the drug thought to do in the body?

Triumeq is a drug that is used to treat patients with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and is shown to be safe. It is thought that ancient viruses (retroviruses) have left their genetic material in our DNA during the human evolution. In some people, this old genetic material may become activated and is believed to be a cause of MND. Triumeq is a anti-retroviral which aims to reduce the amount of these viruses (viral load) within the body.

Trial outcome 

The Lighthouse II phase 3 trial of Triumeq was stopped early. The trial was designed to include an interim analysis after a certain amount of time to assess whether the drug was showing signs of benefit. Unfortunately, the interim analysis found no difference in survival measures between those taking the drug and those on placebo (dummy drug). This suggests that Triumeq is not beneficial for people with MND. Following these results, the decision was made to stop the trial and participants on the trial have been asked to stop taking the drug immediately.

Previous Clinical Trials

Phase 3 (LIGHTHOUSE II)

Lighthouse II was a phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. This means that participants were randomly allocated to receive a treatment with either triumeq or a placebo (dummy drug). The trial enrolled around 400 participants.  Find out more on the MND Clinical Studies Group website or on clinicaltrials.gov.

Phase 2 (LIGHTHOUSE)

The Phase 2 trial (called Lighthouse), showed that triumeq could suppress the genetic reactivation and may slow disease progression in people living with MND. Triumeq was shown to be safe and well tolerated in people living with MND. However, this was a small open label trial, meaning it was not tested against a placebo and more evidence is needed to see if triumeq is beneficial for people with MND. You can read more about this trial here or in a publication here.

Latest News

2025

April 2025- The LIGHTHOUSE II trial was terminated early as an interim analysis found Triumeq had no benefit on survival for people with MND. Full data and results of the trial will be published at a later date.

2024

September 2024 - The trial closed for recruitment

2022

Sept 2022 - The trial began recruiting in the UK.

Last updated: 08/04/2025