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FDA Medwatch Alert: Victrelis (boceprevir) and Ritonavir-Boosted Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Protease Inhibitor Drugs: Drug Safety Communication - Drug Interactions
Posted 26 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
[UPDATED 04/26/2012] FDA notified healthcare professionals that the Victrelis drug label has been revised to state that co-administration of Victrelis (boceprevir), a hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor, along with certain ritonavir-boosted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitors, is not recommended. The findings of a drug-drug interaction study and clinical trial showed that co-administration increased of the possibility of reducing the effectiveness of the medicines, permitting the amount of HCV or HIV virus in the blood to increase. Ritonavir-boosted HIV protease inhibitors include ritonavir-boosted Reyataz (atazanavir), ritonavir-boosted Prezista (darunavir), and Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir). [Posted 02/09/2012] ISSUE: FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients that drug interactions between the hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor Victrelis ( ... Read more
Related support groups: Hepatitis C, HIV Infection, Victrelis, Kaletra, Norvir Soft Gelatin, Norvir, Ritonavir, Reyataz, Atazanavir, Prezista, Boceprevir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Emtricitabine/lopinavir/ritonavir/tenofovir, Darunavir
FDA Medwatch Alert: Statins and HIV or Hepatitis C Drugs: Drug Safety Communication - Interaction Increases Risk of Muscle Injury
Posted 2 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com
ISSUE: FDA notified healthcare professionals of updates to the prescribing information concerning interactions between protease inhibitors and certain statin drugs. Protease inhibitors and statins taken together may raise the blood levels of statins and increase the risk for muscle injury (myopathy). The most serious form of myopathy, called rhabdomyolysis, can damage the kidneys and lead to kidney failure, which can be fatal. BACKGROUND: Statins are a class of prescription drugs used together with diet and exercise to reduce blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (“bad cholesterol”). HIV protease inhibitors are a class of prescription anti-viral drugs used to treat HIV. HCV protease inhibitors are a class of prescription anti-viral drugs used to treat hepatitis C infection. RECOMMENDATION: Healthcare professionals should follow the recommendations in the pr ... Read more
Related support groups: Simvastatin, Lipitor, Crestor, Pravastatin, Zocor, Lovastatin, Incivek, Atorvastatin, Livalo, Rosuvastatin, Red Yeast Rice, Pravachol, Victrelis, Kaletra, Lescol
FDA Medwatch Alert: Victrelis (boceprevir) and Ritonavir-Boosted Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Protease Inhibitor Drugs: Drug Safety Communication - Drug Interactions
Posted 10 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
[Posted 02/09/2012] ISSUE: FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients that drug interactions between the hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor Victrelis (boceprevir) and certain ritonavir-boosted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitors (atazanavir, lopinavir, darunavir) can potentially reduce the effectiveness of these medicines when they are used together. A drug interaction study showed that taking boceprevir (Victrelis) with ritonavir (Norvir) in combination with atazanavir (Reyataz) or darunavir (Prezista), or with Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir) reduced the blood levels of the HIV medicines and boceprevir in the body (see Data Summary below). FDA will be updating the Victrelis drug label to include information about these drug interactions. BACKGROUND: Victrelis is a hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor used with the medicines peginterferon alfa and ... Read more
Related support groups: Kaletra, Ritonavir, Norvir, Norvir Soft Gelatin, Reyataz, Prezista, Atazanavir, Darunavir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Emtricitabine/lopinavir/ritonavir/tenofovir
No Gender-Based Difference Seen in Anti-HIV Drug Response
Posted 20 Sep 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Sept. 20 – Men and women have the same responses to the anti-HIV drugs darunavir and ritonavir, researchers have found. The new study included 429 HIV-positive patients (287 women and 142 men) at 65 sites in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. The participants were given 600 milligrams (mg) of darunavir and 100 mg of ritonavir twice daily. The treatment response rates were 73 percent in women and 73.5 percent in men, the investigators found. Rates of adverse events were also comparable between the sexes. The most common side effects were nausea (5.2 percent of women, 2.8 percent of men), diarrhea (4.5 percent of women, 4.9 percent of men) and rash (2.1 percent of women, 2.8 percent of men). The findings are published in the Sept. 21 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. The Gender, Race and Clinical Experience (GRACE) study ... Read more
Related support groups: HIV Infection, Kaletra, Norvir, Ritonavir, Norvir Soft Gelatin, Prezista, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Emtricitabine/lopinavir/ritonavir/tenofovir, Darunavir
Anti-HIV Drugs May Help Prevent Spread of Virus
Posted 27 May 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, May 27 – People who are HIV-positive can lower their risk for transmitting the virus to their partners by 90 percent by taking antiretroviral drugs, new research has found. Antiretroviral drug therapy helps reduce HIV levels in the infected person's blood, which in turn makes the person less infectious to others. The drugs are commonly taken in the United States by people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In the new research, published online May 26 in The Lancet, investigators studied more than 3,400 heterosexual couples in seven African countries. In each couple, one person was infected with HIV and the other was not. No one in the study was taking antiretroviral drugs. Health workers counseled the couples about preventing HIV transmission and followed up with them for two years. During that time, periodic blood tests measured HIV levels in the blood, and people were ... Read more
Related support groups: HIV Infection, Atripla, Truvada, Baraclude, Kaletra, Ritonavir, Lexiva, Viread, Norvir Soft Gelatin, Entecavir, Norvir, Hepsera, Combivir, Nevirapine, Reyataz
AIDS Drugs Don't Need Routine Lab Monitoring
Posted 9 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9 – In a finding that has implications for how the AIDS virus is treated in Africa, new research suggests that antiretroviral drugs can be given without routine monitoring by lab tests. But tests of immune-system function might still be a good idea to monitor the progression of the disease and guide the second year of treatment, the study authors report. Patients with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, often receive drug treatment in Africa without routine laboratory monitoring. In the study, published online Tuesday in advance of publication in a future print issue of The Lancet, researchers tried to determine if that's a bad idea. They studied 3,316 HIV-positive adults who were assigned to monitoring in both the doctor's office and the laboratory or only in the doctor's office. The patients were studied in Uganda and Zimbabwe. "The results clearly show that first-line ... Read more
Related support groups: HIV Infection, Atripla, Truvada, Kaletra, Lexiva, Norvir Soft Gelatin, Ritonavir, Viread, Norvir, Tenofovir, Efavirenz, Reyataz, Atazanavir, Prezista, Sustiva
FDA Medwatch Alert: Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir) Oral Solution
Posted 14 Aug 2007 by Drugs.com
[Posted 08/14/2007] Abbott Laboratories disseminated a Dear Healthcare Provider Letter throughout the world to physicians and pharmacists that prescribe/distribute Kaletra Oral Solution. The letter informed healthcare professionals of an accidental overdose that occurred with a pediatric patient taking Kaletra Oral Solution. The infant received a significantly large dose of Kaletra and subsequently died. Healthcare professionals should pay special attention to accurate calculation of the dose of Kaletra, transcription of the medication order, dispensing information and dosing instructions to minimize the risk for medication errors.[August 13, 2007 - Dear Healthcare Professional Letter - Abbott] Read more
Related support groups: Kaletra