Quad Pill Works as Well as Atazanavir Combo at 48 Weeks

The experimental Quad pill -- a once-daily single-tablet regimen containing the integrase inhibitor elvitegravir, the novel boosting agent cobicistat, and the NRTIs tenofovir and emtricitabine -- met a 48-week primary endpoint demonstrating non-inferiority to a boosted atazanavir regimen, Gilead Sciences announced this week. Both combinations suppressed HIV RNA in about 90% of treatment-naive HIV patients, but fewer people discontinued the Quad due to side effects.

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Quad Pill Effectiveness Matches Atripla at 48 Weeks

The "Quad" pill -- an 4-in-1 single-tablet regimen containing the experimental integrase inhibitor elvitegravir, cobicistat (a new boosting agent), tenofovir, and emtricitabine -- was shown to be as safe and effective for first-line HIV treatment as the approved all-in-1 regimen, Atripla (efavirenz/tenofovir/emtricitabine), according to Gilead Sciences.

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ICAAC 2011: Cobicistat Matches Ritonavir as Booster, Studies Clarify Effects on Kidney Function

The experimental pharmacoenhancing agent cobicistat continues to work as well as ritonavir for boosting other antiretroviral drugs, according to findings published in the September 24, 2011, issue of AIDS.

In addition, 2 studies presented this week at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC 2011) shed further light on cobicistat's impact on the kidneys, indicating that it reduces estimated but not actual glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by altering activity in the proximal renal tubules.

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FDA Approves Complera, New Single-Pill Regimen for HIV

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new once-daily all-in-one pill for treatment-naive people with HIV containing tenofovir/emtricitabine/rilpivirine, to be marketed under the brand name Complera.

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