FDA Lists New Drug Interactions for Victrelis

The FDA sent out a “Drug Safety Communication” from their Division of Drug Information on February 9, 2012, listing the important new drug interactions between Victrelis (boceprevir) and ritonavir-boosted HIV protease inhibitor drugs.

According to the release, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is notifying 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. FDA will be updating the Victrelis drug label to include information about these drug interactions.”

The release stressed that patients should not stop taking any of their medications without consulting their physician first, and urged patients to contact their health care professional if they had any questions or concerns.

The alert also directed health care professionals to closely monitor any patients with both chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV who are taking Victrelis for “HCV treatment response and for potential HCV and HIV virologic rebound.”

For more information, please visit the FDA announcement about Victrelis.