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|Articles|September 27, 2021
Daily Medication Pearl: Biktarvy for HIV
Author(s)Saro Arakelians, PharmD
Because Biktarvy is a complete regimen, coadministration with other antiretroviral medications for the treatment of HIV-1 infection is not recommended.
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Medication Pearl of the Day: Biktarvy (bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide)
Indication: Biktarvy is a 3-drug combination of bictegravir (BIC), an HIV-1 integrase strand transfer inhibitor, and emtricitabine (FTC) and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), both HIV-1 nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Biktarvy is indicated as a complete regimen for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and pediatric patients.
Insight:
- Dosing: Recommended dosage is 1 tablet taken once daily, with or without food, in patients weighing at least 25 kg.
- Dosage form: 50 mg tablets of BIC (equivalent to 52.5 mg of BIC sodium), 200 mg of FTC, and 25 mg of TAF (equivalent to 28 mg of TAF).
- Adverse events: Most common adverse events (incidence greater than or equal to 5%, all grades) are diarrhea, nausea, and headache.
- Drug interactions: Because Biktarvy is a complete regimen, coadministration with other antiretroviral medications for the treatment of HIV-1 infection is not recommended.
- Mechanism of action: Biktarvy is a fixed dose combination of antiretroviral drugs BIC, FTC, and TAF [see Microbiology].
- Manufacturer: Gilead
Sources:
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