Article
Adherence Levels Similar Between Branded, Generic HIV Drugs
Author(s):
There was no statistically significant difference in medication possession ratio among HIV-positive patients taking generic or branded antiretrovirals.
Among patients with HIV, adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is key to viral suppression, while nonadherence has been linked to both drug resistance and disease progression.
With the introduction of single-tablet regimens (STRs) for ART, treatment regimens have been simplified, thereby increasing adherence compared with multi-tablet regimens (MTRs).
At this point in time, STRs for ART are only available as brand-name products. Studies demonstrated that switching patients from brand name STRs to MTRs that may include both brand and generic drugs could generate enormous cost savings. The biggest concern is that the cost savings from switching patients to cheap regimens could be offset by decreased adherence due to higher pill burden and frequency.
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