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Prezcobix Side Effects

Generic name: cobicistat / darunavir

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Jun 21, 2024.

Note: This document provides detailed information about Prezcobix.

Applies to cobicistat / darunavir: oral tablet, tablet oral Side Effects associated with cobicistat / darunavir. Some dosage forms listed on this page may not apply specifically to the brand name Prezcobix.

Applies to cobicistat / darunavir: oral tablet, tablet oral.

Precautions

It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits, especially during the first few weeks that you take this medicine, to make sure it is working properly. Blood and urine tests may be needed to check for any unwanted effects.

This medicine should not be used together with alfuzosin (Uroxatral®), carbamazepine (Tegretol®), cisapride (Propulsid®), dronedarone (Multaq®), elbasvir/grazoprevir (Zepatier®), ivabradine (Corlaonor®), lomitapide (Juxtapid®, Lojuxta®), lovastatin (Mevacor®), lurasidone (Latuda®), naloxegol (Movantik®, Moventig®), oral midazolam (Versed®), phenobarbital (Luminal®), phenytoin (Dilantin®), pimozide (Orap®), ranolazine (Ranexa®), rifampin (Rifadin®, Rimactane®), sildenafil (Revatio®), simvastatin (Zocor®), St. John's wort, triazolam (Halcion®), or ergot medicines (eg, dihydroergotamine, ergotamine, methylergonovine, Cafergot®, Ergomar®, Wigraine®). Do not use this medicine together with colchicine (Colcrys®) if you have kidney or liver disease.

Using this medicine while you are pregnant can harm your unborn baby. Birth control pills may not work as well to prevent pregnancy when used with this medicine. Use another form of birth control (eg, condoms, spermicide) along with your pills to keep from getting pregnant during treatment with this medicine. If you think you have become pregnant while using this medicine, tell your doctor right away.

Check with your doctor right away if you have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, unusual tiredness or weakness, or yellow eyes or skin. These could be symptoms of a serious liver problem.

Serious skin reactions (eg, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms, and acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis) can occur with this medicine. Check with your doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms: severe rash, blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, chills, cough, diarrhea, itching, joint or muscle pain, red skin lesions, often with a purple center, skin rash, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

This medicine may increase your risk for kidney problems, including acute kidney failure or Fanconi syndrome (when used together with tenofovir DF). Check with your doctor right away if you have changes in how much you urinate, decreased mental sharpness, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, or muscle twitches or cramps.

This medicine may increase blood sugar levels. Check with your doctor if you notice a change in the results of your blood or urine sugar tests.

This medicine may cause you to have excess body fat. Tell your doctor if you notice changes in your body shape, such as an increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck, or around the chest and stomach area. You might also lose fat from the legs, arms, and face.

Your immune system may get stronger when you start taking HIV medicines. Tell your doctor right away if you notice any changes in your health. Sometimes the immune system will start to fight infections that were hidden in your body, such as pneumonia, herpes, or tuberculosis. Autoimmune disorders (eg, Graves' disease, polymyositis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and autoimmune hepatitis) may also occur.

This medicine does not decrease the risk of transmitting the HIV infection to others through sexual contact or by contaminated blood. Make sure you understand and practice safe sex, even if your partner also has HIV. Avoid sharing needles with anyone.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or non-prescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.

Serious side effects of Prezcobix

Along with its needed effects, cobicistat / darunavir may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking cobicistat / darunavir:

Incidence not known

  • agitation
  • blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin
  • chills
  • clay-colored stools
  • confusion
  • cough
  • dark urine
  • decreased appetite
  • decreased awareness or responsiveness
  • decreased urine output
  • depression
  • diarrhea
  • dizziness
  • fever
  • headache
  • irritability
  • itching, skin rash
  • joint or muscle pain
  • loss of appetite
  • loss of consciousness
  • lower back pain
  • muscle cramps, spasms, stiffness, or twitching
  • nausea
  • pain or burning while urinating
  • rapid weight gain
  • red skin lesions, often with a purple center
  • red, irritated eyes
  • seizures
  • severe sleepiness
  • sore throat
  • sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips
  • stomach pain or tenderness
  • swelling of the face, hands, feet, lower legs, or ankles
  • unusual drowsiness, dullness, tiredness, weakness, or feeling of sluggishness
  • vomiting
  • yellow eyes or skin

Other side effects of Prezcobix

Some side effects of cobicistat / darunavir may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.

Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

Incidence not known

  • increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck, or around the chest and stomach area

For healthcare professionals

Applies to cobicistat / darunavir: oral tablet.

General adverse events

In clinical trials, safety of this drug was evaluated in therapy-naive and therapy-experienced patients using the individual components with other antiretrovirals. Safety data was also provided from clinical trials and postmarketing experience of darunavir/ritonavir and cobicistat in combination with other antiretrovirals. In the pooled data of a trial using darunavir 800 mg plus cobicistat 150 mg once a day with other antiretrovirals and an arm of a trial using this drug once a day with other antiretrovirals, the most common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, rash, and headache; serious side effects were diabetes mellitus, drug hypersensitivity, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, rash, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and vomiting. In clinical trials and postmarketing experience with darunavir 600 mg plus ritonavir 100 mg twice a day, the most common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, rash, headache, and vomiting; the most common serious side effects were acute renal failure, myocardial infarction, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, thrombocytopenia, osteonecrosis, diarrhea, hepatitis, and pyrexia.

The manufacturer product information for cobicistat and darunavir should be consulted.[Ref]

Gastrointestinal

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Increased pancreatic amylase (grade 2: 6.5%; grade 3: 2.6%) and lipase (grade 2: 3.9%; grade 3: 1%; grade 4: 1.3%) were reported.[Ref]

Dermatologic

Darunavir:

Darunavir/ritonavir:

In clinical trials with darunavir/ritonavir and darunavir/cobicistat, rashes were generally mild-to-moderate, often occurring within the first 4 weeks of therapy and resolving with continued use. The pooled data of a trial using darunavir 800 mg plus cobicistat 150 mg once a day with other antiretrovirals and an arm of a trial using this drug once a day with other antiretrovirals, therapy was discontinued due to rash in 1.9% of patients.[Ref]

Other

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Antiretroviral therapy:

Increased LDL cholesterol (grade 2: 10.9%; grade 3: 4.8%), total cholesterol (grade 2: 10.6%; grade 3: 1%), triglycerides (grade 2: 1.4%; grade 3: 1.4%), and alkaline phosphatase (grade 2: 1%) were reported.[Ref]

Nervous system

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Metabolic

Darunavir:

Darunavir/ritonavir:

HIV protease inhibitors:

Antiretroviral therapy:

Increased glucose (grade 2: 6.5%) was reported.[Ref]

Hepatic

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Increased AST (grade 2: 6.1%; grade 3: 2.3%; grade 4: 0.6%) and ALT (grade 2: 3.2%; grade 3: 1.9%; grade 4: 1%) were reported.

In patients using darunavir/ritonavir, hepatic transaminase elevations were reported more often in those coinfected with HIV and hepatitis B and/or C virus than in patients infected with HIV only.[Ref]

Renal

Cobicistat:

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Increased creatinine (grade 2) was reported in 3.2% of patients.

Within 7 days after starting cobicistat 150 mg in a phase I trial, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) change from baseline averaged -9.9 mL/min in patients with normal renal function (eGFR at least 80 mL/min [calculated by Cockcroft-Gault method]) and -11.9 mL/min in patients with mild to moderate renal dysfunction (eGFR 50 to 79 mL/min [calculated by Cockcroft-Gault method]). These eGFR decreases were reversible after cobicistat was discontinued and did not affect the actual glomerular filtration rate.

In a phase III trial using darunavir 800 mg plus cobicistat 150 mg once a day with other antiretrovirals, eGFR (calculated by Cockcroft-Gault method) change from baseline averaged -9.6 mL/min at week 2, -11.5 mL/min at week 24, and -9.6 mL/min at week 48. In an arm of a phase III trial using this drug once a day with other antiretrovirals, eGFR (calculated by Cockcroft-Gault method) change from baseline averaged -11.1 mL/min at week 48; eGFR (based on cystatin C) change from baseline averaged +2.9 mL/min/1.73 m2 at week 48.

Renal impairment (including acute renal failure and Fanconi syndrome) has been reported when cobicistat was used in a regimen containing tenofovir.[Ref]

Hypersensitivity

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Musculoskeletal

Darunavir:

Darunavir/ritonavir:

HIV protease inhibitors:

Increased CPK, myalgia, myositis, and rarely, rhabdomyolysis have been reported with HIV protease inhibitors, especially when coadministered with nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

Osteonecrosis has been reported, particularly with commonly known risk factors (e.g., corticosteroid use, alcohol use, severe immunosuppression, higher body mass index), advanced HIV disease, or long-term combination antiretroviral therapy.[Ref]

Psychiatric

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Immunologic

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Combination antiretroviral therapy:

Endocrine

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Cardiovascular

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Hematologic

Darunavir/ritonavir:

HIV protease inhibitors:

Respiratory

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Genitourinary

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Oncologic

Darunavir/ritonavir:

Ocular

Darunavir/ritonavir:

See also:

References

1. Cerner Multum, Inc. "UK Summary of Product Characteristics."

2. Cerner Multum, Inc. "Australian Product Information."

3. (2014) "Product Information. Prezcobix (cobicistat-darunavir)." Janssen Pharmaceuticals

4. Cerner Multum, Inc. (2015) "Canadian Product Information."

5. (2006) "Product Information. Prezista (darunavir)." Ortho Biotech Inc

Frequently asked questions

Further information

Prezcobix side effects can vary depending on the individual. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

Note: Medication side effects may be underreported. If you are experiencing side effects that are not listed, submit a report to the FDA by following this guide.